Biblical Studies, Church, Evangelism, Faith, Heaven, Hell, History, Religion
John Beeson
How To Read the Book of Revelation

If you lived in Western New York in the early 1800s, you had a front-row seat to one of the most exciting times and places in US history. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, and with its opening came a flood of commerce and people. Towns popped up and with the people came temptation. Stephen Nichols describes the spiritual mood, “Revivalist preachers set up their tents and, with impassioned pleas, called for revival and repentance.” Those pleas were often tied to fervent appeals tied to the return of Jesus.

Because of the great response to these revivals, upper New York was dubbed the Burned-Over District.

How To Read the Book of Revelation
Recommendations, Comedy, Consumerism, Culture, Technology, Nature, Identity
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. You are no longer invited to dinner: Derek Thompson shares some sad news, “In the last 30 years, Americans have seen double-digit declines in practically every measure of socializing. They are less likely to play cards; attend a sporting event; go to the bar; volunteer; or work on a community project. When it comes to hosting people at home, the declines are particularly stark. Since 1995, the share of Americans who say they’ve hosted guests or attended a dinner party has declined by about 20 percent

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Forgiveness, Identity, Relationships, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?

“I want to forgive him, but how do I forgive someone who died years ago?”
“I want to forgive her, but I don’t have any way to contact her.”

Do you have someone in your life that you want to forgive, but you don’t know how to because they are no longer in your life or perhaps they have passed away? How do you respond?

The misunderstanding.
Sometimes we confuse or conflate forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is releasing someone of a debt that is owed to us (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:23-35).

How Do You Forgive Someone Who Is Gone?
Recommendations, Culture, Family, Sexuality, Social Media
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. I have called you friends: Alastair Roberts says, “Jesus came to make us friends of God, people with the same standing with God that our father Abraham had. As friends of God, we enjoy an intimacy with God and a participation in his work quite exceeding that of servants.”

  2. What draws me back? Three arguments for the faith on the days I doubt: Trevin Wax says, “The reason the problem of evil delivers such an emotional wallop for me is because of the bigger problem of good—the gratuitousness of beauty and goodness in our world, and the consequent ache in our hearts

This Week's Recommendations
Christian Living, Family, Hospitality, Relationships
John Beeson
A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a ...

We stepped into the candy shop and could feel it immediately. We were welcome here. And no, it wasn’t just the aroma of chocolate wafting through the air (although that helped!). It was in the kind eyes of the shop owner, in the smile of her employee as she swept the floor. The sign outside said the shop closed five minutes earlier. “Are you sure it’s okay we come in?” I cautiously asked. “Of course!” she said. And I could feel that she meant it.

The atmosphere in her candy shop stood in stark contrast to the cold, unwelcoming atmosphere of several other shops we had visited

A Candy Shop Owner, a Customs Officer, and a Beloved Family

John Lennox

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When God Shows Up and You Miss Him

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When God Shows Up and You Miss Him

It took me nine years after the terrible incident to recognize that God was present. At the time, the experience felt more like an attack from the enemy than a gift from God. But as I processed the event with others who had been there, a lightbulb went on. When I began to see the good fruit that had come from that nightmare, I recognized God at work in ways I had previously missed.

Have you ever missed God at work?

The disciples were certainly not immune to this. Jesus was ministering in Galilee when a great crowd followed him into a desolate place.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Sitting down in victory: Beth Ferguson says, “When Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, something decisive happened not only in heaven, but for us. When we lose sight of that throne, discipleship begins to feel heavier than it was ever meant to be.”

  2. Knowing yourself is not the same thing as changing yourself: The post begins, “Here’s a controversial fact: Despite their popularity as leadership development tools, personality assessments fail to make leaders better.”

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