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
Biblical Studies, Church, Wisdom
John Beeson
The Mystery of the White Stone

In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses seven first-century churches, commending what is faithful, confronting what is sinful, and calling each church to hear what the Spirit says. Each message closes with a promise “to the one who conquers,” that is, to the one who perseveres in faithful allegiance to Christ.

Pergamum, a church struggling with the enticement of the flesh, receives one of the most intriguing promises.  In this stronghold of Satan, they still “hold fast” to Jesus’ name, but they are being lured by the doctrine of cheap grace: trust in Jesus and do as you please!

The Mystery of the White Stone
Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Death, Faith, Finance, Science, Theology
John Beeson
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
Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Faith
John Beeson
Saul, the Witch at En-dor, and the Will of God

Do ghosts exist? Do we have access to the spirit world? If so, what does that mean for our spiritual life? The bizarre story of Saul and the Medium at En-Dor, while challenging, addresses these questions.

 

At the heart of this text is a critical question: will you obey God?

Here is the story:

The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him,

Saul, the Witch at En-dor, and the Will of God
Faith, Fear, Prayer
John Beeson
Come, You Who Are Anxious

Anxiety comes in many shapes and forms. Do you ever have a feeling of dread? Does your chest ever tighten in fear? Do you feel like you can’t slow down your mind?

How can we escape anxiety’s clutches? Let’s look at how Jesus responds to those gripped by fear.

Jesus first points us to the sovereignty of God. As Jesus departs the upper room where he and his disciples ate the Last Supper and he stooped and washed their feet, the hearts of the eleven were in turmoil. Jesus had shared the frightening news that Judas had allowed Satan to enter his heart and that Peter would deny him

Come, You Who Are Anxious

aging

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This Week's Recommendations

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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,

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Six lies culture wants you to believe about aging: Jen Wilkin says, “The Bible instructs that aging is a completion, a deepening of identity. Older men and women are presented as the repositories of a generational wealth that can only be built by the passage of time and, in the case of the believer, by the work of the Spirit.”

  2. The first conspiracy theory and the dangers of hidden knowledge: Rachel Suffern says, “Rather than providing power that elevated men to the status of God, the knowledge of good and evil gave humans a choice between competing forces much stronger than they were capable of mastering.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. How the West became pagan—again: Derek Rishmawy says, “When you think about your average non-Christian today... It’s far more likely to be someone who never went to church, checks her astrology chart, likes nature, takes an interest in breathwork because it connects her to reality, and maybe believes in the simulation theory.

  2. Our sorrows keep getting more sorrowful and joys keep getting more joyful: Christopher Ash says, “ Far from the life of faith, gradually steadying to some calm mid-point between sorrow and joy, the sorrows deepen, and yet are infused with stronger joys. It gets, if I may put it loosely, both worse and better.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. To be almost saved is to be completely lost: Tim Challies begins, “Along the coast of New York is a little town called East Hampton. And I recently read that there is a cemetery in East Hampton where you can find 12 identical graves that have been laid side by side. There’s a story behind them, of course.”

  2. All the ways I’ve hated myself: Brittany Allen shares, “This bully has been berating me for years. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever been rid of her. Because, as you probably already guessed, she is me.”

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