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
Church, Culture, Book Reviews
John Beeson
The Long Journey of Self-Knowledge in a Culture ...

“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.

The Long Journey of Self-Knowledge in a Culture of Confusion
Christian Living, Prayer
John Beeson
The Air Raid Siren

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 Air Raid Siren
Christian Living, Nature
John Beeson
The Ground Where Saguaros Thrive

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.

The Ground Where Saguaros Thrive
Leadership, Wisdom, Vocation
John Beeson
Anger, Retaliation, and My Scion xB

I drove a little manual 2005 Scion xB for about eight years. It finally gave out after 230,000 miles. I loved that little car. It was fuel-efficient and required minimal maintenance. But it is undeniably close to the least powerful car on the road. I’m pretty sure that on its specs, next to 0-60mph, it says, “Eventually!”

Unless I was lined up against someone from a nearby retirement community, I was the last car to reach the speed limit coming off a stoplight. Unsurprisingly, more aggressive drivers with more powerful vehicles tended to treat my little Scion like a safety cone on the road, more like an obstacle than a fellow traveler.

Anger, Retaliation, and My Scion xB

Jacob Crouch

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. 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?

  2. 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.”

  3. 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.”

  4. 50 preaching tips in 15 minutes (video): HB Charles’s wisdom is gold.

  5. Bird’s impressive courtship dance moves fail to impress partner: I feel like I’m watching myself in middle school. Poor guy.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. They will never understand how much I love them: Jacob Crouch speaks to the heart of every parent. “God has now given me five children, and with each new birth, a strange thing happens.

  2. Jesus said more about hell than anyone in the Bible: Speaking of love, how do we square Jesus’ love with this hard truth?

  3. The list on the door: Andrea Sanborn asks us to consider eternity

  4. Which is the best position to sleep in?

  5. Nature inFocus photography festival winners: India’s annual photography festival has some amazing shots.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Gospel Hope for Self-Haters: David Powlison with a layered analysis of something many struggle with. “He is actually saying something that competes with the false voices, and it is not just something you rehearse in your own head. He’s actually inviting you to come out of yourself, out of the death spiral, the vortex of self-hatred, as we are talking about it right now.”

  2. Men and Emotions: I’ve spent a lot of time working with men on this issue (and myself!) and love Joseph Hussung’s approach. He explains, “The purpose of using these tools is simple. We need to be able to express our emotions. We need to be able to express them to our Lord, and we need to be able to express them to others.”

  3. What’s Beneath it all? Sylvia Schroeder considers her cries to God for her daughter’s life, “Were my begging pleas like the Israelites in the Old Testament in their whining complaints? Did my request resemble theirs when they craved meat and disdained manna in the wilderness? Did He grow tired of my pleas?”

  4. Banksy and Beauty from Ashes: Tim Challies with a reflection on a graffiti artist’s statement, “Not too long ago, I read that the mysterious artist Banksy had created several new murals in Ukraine. Going to locations that had experienced the fury of war, he found broken and damaged buildings and used them as his canvas.”

  5. Four Reasons to Be Early to the Sunday Gathering: I appreciate Jacob Crouch’s simple admonitions to church-goers here, “Try showing up just 10 minutes early next week. This isn’t a law from on high, but I really think this could be a prudent way to make the most of a Sunday morning.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. See Me: Andrea Sanborn begins, “Mommy, watch!” She twirls through the living room, nightgown billowing around her legs. “Watch me!” she pleads, spinning and dancing in the hope of her mother’s regard.”

  2. Dear Nursery Worker: Lara d’Entremont shares, “I came into your nursery with a lot of baggage. Not just a heavy diaper bag slung over my shoulder and a toddler clinging to my side. I came with grief from miscarriages. I came with sorrow from leaving the church we used to call home. I came with fear and uncertainty if this would be the place we could call our church.”

  3. Know the Difference Between Laziness and Limitations: Tim Shorey, who is battling stage four cancer imparts wisdom, “Losing your job may mean you don’t leave your house every morning. Nursing a newborn may mean you sit in a rocking chair for hours. Struggles with migraines or insomnia may mean you sleep when the rest of the world is busy. These are not matters for guilt. They are limitations.”

  4. There are an Infinite Number of Wheels in God’s Providence: Jacob Crouch asks, “Have you ever seen one of those Rube Goldberg machines? A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption where someone sets up an incredibly complicated chain reaction in order to accomplish a simple task. (Check out this guy’s amazing basketball one for an example). I’m always amazed at how every little detail has to work out exactly right, or the whole thing falls apart. I’ve even made one before, and the smallest variation in any part can throw the whole thing off. For it to work as it was designed, even the most minute detail must happen exactly at the right place and the right time. God’s providence in our lives is infinitely more complex and amazing.”

  5. The Unconventional Model Behind Chic-fil-A’s Success: Really neat to see just how different Chic-fil-A’s approach is. Lots of leadership lessons here to be learned.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. How Much Money Americans Say They Need to Feel Rich: Kamaron McNair reports (note how much one’s current income determines one’s response), “An annual income of $1 million or more was the most popular answer, with 22% of respondents saying they need to rake in seven figures to feel rich.”

  2. Wrinkles in Time: Kristin reflects, “Stirred by her actions, I realized that I want to move happily ahead on the path called today, serving my family and friends, playing peekaboo with our grandson, and forgetting all about me. This does not happen naturally, does it?”

  3. How the Doctrine of Exclusivity Made me a Christian: Mason Jones reflects on his conversion, “Before I became a Christian, I had a strictly physicalist worldview that left no room for objective moral principles. My biggest objection to such principles was that they’d require some absolute standard that transcended the physical universe.”

  4. The Devil is Blinding You to Glory: Jacob Crouch begins, “Have you ever felt cold towards the gospel? Have you heard that Christ died for your sins and was raised from the dead and just felt blah. If that is you, because I know it has been me at times, then I want to alert you to something. This is more than just unfortunate; this is war. And this coldness to Christ is a direct attack from the enemy. The devil is blinding you to glory.”

  5. The Prince: This podcast series on the backstory of the world’s most powerful man, Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping, was an eye-opener for me.

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