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

nostalgia

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A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” In 1977 these blue words scrolled across black screens in theaters across America, introducing an unsuspecting audience to the world of Ewoks, Wookies, Storm Troopers, and light sabers. With those words, George Lucas simultaneously transported viewers into the future and then back into the past (as Star Wars obviously takes place in a future version of our universe). Lucas’s words were a brilliant stroke that called the viewer forward and backward at the same time, evoking both the imagination and nostalgia.

“There is nothing new under the sun,” the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us (Eccl. 1:9).

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” another author evoked audiences to consider the Triune God in eternity past. John begins his gospel with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

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The Danger of Nostalgia

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The Danger of Nostalgia

What’s your favorite family memory? What is your favorite memory of church? Your favorite holiday memory? Recollecting can bring warm feelings toward people and fond memories of places. Nostalgia can stoke gratitude. It appears that God rejoices in godly nostalgia. Take a look at Psalm 78 or Psalm 105 where God takes his people on a tour of their past and we see his faithfulness on display.

Last week we celebrated my son’s 16th birthday. My wife sent a dozen pictures of Soren through the years in our family text strand. My eyes filled with tears and my heart almost burst as I reflected on each of the moments in his life Angel had captured through her photos. My son is such a gift to us: his tender heart, his sense of humor, his perceptiveness. It is a gift to go back and re-live sweet and joy-filled moments that we have shared.

And yet. There is danger in nostalgia.

The Perfect Isn’t Behind Us

Nostalgia can make it seem as though the perfect lies behind us. When we reminisce, there can be a halo effect over times and places in our past that distorts reality. We remember a vacation fondly, thinking that our family was delighted in that season of our lives, only to forget the squabbles on vacation, or the Monopoly game that ended in tears. We recollect a sweet season in a church we used to go to, but forget that the church was pretty insider-focused and had a poor evangelistic outreach. We think fondly of a time when we worked for a company that was making a big difference in its industry, but omit from our memory the overly critical boss.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. 15 GOOD News Trends from 2020: How refreshing is this article by Joe Carter? It includes good news about terrorism, abortion, and numbers in the prison system. He concludes with this piece of good news, “The U.S. Supreme Court continued a pattern of preventing restrictions on religious liberty. The Supreme Court closed out its 2020 term with three significant victories for religious liberty—continuing a 10-year series of wins for religious freedom.”

2. The Six Costs of Sin: William Boekestein with an excellent breakdown of just how costly sin is. He says that, “Reflecting on the manifold cost of sin can warn our souls against wandering from the safe path of faithfulness.”

3. The Beauty and Burden of Nostalgia: Jared Wilson explains why, as good as nostalgia can be, it is also dangerous. He explains first that, “This is what nostalgia promises us—an exit from the tyranny of progress, the chaos of everything we see on the news and in our neighborhood.”

4. Love, According to E.B. White: My friend Brianna Lambert explains how E.B. White gives us three different stories to explain three different definitions of love, “In the course of these three novels, E.B. White slows down and invites his reader to learn three very unique definitions of love.”

5. Atheism’s Empty Soul: Alan Shlemon explains the inevitable end of naturalism, “Atheists don’t have a livable worldview. I don’t say that to gloat. Several atheists who have been candid with me have told me life is ultimately empty and devoid of meaning. That doesn’t mean they can’t feel happy, follow a set of morals, or believe their life is significant in some way. But their denial of God has serious repercussions.”

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