Recommendations, Biblical Studies, Faith, Marriage, Relationships, Science, Suffering
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. The profound connection between suffering and glory: Dane Ortlund concludes, “Our scars here will be beauty marks there. The uglier the scarring, the brighter the beauty.”

  2. The four horsemen of the apocalypse (re: marital communication): “Decades of Gottman research has demonstrated four destructive communication patterns that can signal relationship breakdown if left unchecked.”

This Week's Recommendations
Counseling, Culture, Forgiveness, Wisdom
John Beeson
Would You Forgive Me of My Narcissism?

In the ancient myth, the hunter Narcissus was acclaimed for his beauty. Many sought Narcissus romantically, but he spurned them all. One day on a hunt, Narcissus paused to rest by a pool of water; stooping for a drink, he caught sight of his own reflection. He fell in love with his reflection and stayed by the pool, staring at himself for the rest of his life.

The American Psychiatric Association defines narcissistic personality disorder as, “a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance,

Would You Forgive Me of My Narcissism?
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?

sin

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Suffer and do not sin: Andrea Mathews says, “Our suffering has stretched us. It has caused us to cling to Christ. It has brought us a deeper awareness of our dependency on God and dismantled the illusion of control we once thought we had over our lives. But suffering also has brought a particular array of temptations to sin, and I have often succumbed.

  2. How does wonder lead us to worship and wisdom? Eric Lynum says, “To wonder, in the biblical sense, is to think about God doing what only God can do. We sense the magnitude of his creativity as we stand beneath a canopy of trees,

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Why Do I Have to Keep Forgiving?

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Why Do I Have to Keep Forgiving?

“Why do I have to keep forgiving them?” It’s a question I’ve heard many times as a pastor, said in different ways and sometimes meaning different things.

It can be said with weariness and hurt, or anger and bitterness, or confusion and longing.

It can mean, “It hurts too much to keep forgiving them for repeated sins.”

It can mean, “Can’t I just overlook their sin against me?”

It can mean, “They hurt me so deeply they don’t deserve any more forgiveness.”

It can mean, “Why am I still hurting over a particular sin when I said I forgave them?”

This Week's Recommendations

This Week's Recommendations

  1. Do Americans think spiritual revival is coming? Barna’s report says yes: especially among young people. “Nearly 3 in 10 U.S. adults (29%) say a spiritual revival could be coming, with Gen Z the most likely of any generation to anticipate such a movement (38%).”

  2. Am I defined by who I am or what I do? Justin Poythress says, “Is your identity a deep and settled persona? Or is it what you do—the sum of your choices which you can always redirect? It’s both. The errors of these two identity convictions are self-determination and fatalism. Neither is true because internal and external identities interconnect.”

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Don't "Give Yourself Grace"

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Don't "Give Yourself Grace"

My friend was lost. Over cups of coffee, he shared what had been bottled up inside of him for months. It was hard to figure out which came first, his depression or his spiritual spiral. Secret porn and drug addictions were now coupled with a full-blown affair, culminating with his wife demanding that he move out. He was confused and hurting, hard-hearted and spiritually blind. “My girlfriend tells me I just need to give myself grace,” he shared.

“Give yourself grace” has become a common refrain in our culture.

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Pest Control and the Human Heart

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Pest Control and the Human Heart

I never thought much about the pest control industry—until that Saturday. As we prayer-walked the neighborhood adjacent to our church, I found myself chuckling at how many residents apparently worked for pest control companies. I began noticing and counting the trucks parked in driveways: Truly Nolen, Northwest, Greenshield, Responsible, Action, Western, Aptive, SOS. Eight pest control companies represented in a single neighborhood.

There are more than 34,000 pest control businesses in the United States employing over 167,000 specialists. Together, they generate upwards of $22 billion in annual revenue, and the industry is projected to grow steadily at a 5.7% rate annually. 

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How to Battle Lust

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How to Battle Lust

Sexuality saturates our culture. The human heart, already an engine inclined toward  malformed desires, has plenty of fuel available via the internet alone to propel it toward disaster. How can we remain pure in a world bent on dragging us into impurity?   

 

Indeed, the world is partial. The battle against lust is a three-pronged battle against our flesh, the world, and Satan. Paul warns us to “not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) by later specifying some of those desires: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality” (Galatians 5:19). Our flesh lures us into believing that we can take a shortcut to joy and intimacy.

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Harmless Fun? Don't Bet On It.

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Harmless Fun? Don't Bet On It.

“Download this app!” I urged my family, “You’ll get $200 free to bet!” Five years ago sports betting became legal across most of the United States. From 2019 to 2023, sports betting downloads increased from 6 million to 33 million. In 2021 alone, the percentage of Americans who regularly bet on sports more than doubled jumping from 5% to 12%.

By 2024, the sports betting market reached an estimated size of $70 billion, generating $13.7 billion in revenue. Analysts predict the industry will continue its skyrocketing growth, projecting it to reach $187 billion by 2030.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. A scientist produced a monogamy study, including us: The most monogamous animal will likely surprise you (six animals rank higher than humans!). But this won’t surprise you, “Overall, less than 10% of mammals are monogamous, according to Dyble.”

  2. Don’t overthink your problems: Wyatt Graham begins, “When we face criticism or feel uncertain about our actions, our natural tendency is to analyze every detail, replay every conversation, and search for what we might have done wrong. But Scripture offers us a surprisingly liberating approach: acknowledge clear sin, but don’t lose yourself in endless rumination over unclear accusations. Instead, trust that God knows your heart better than you do.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Soul is making a comeback: Wyatt Graham begins, “Everything seems to suppress soul. We live to catalyze efficient products. Our labour is counted, quantified, and measured. Human resource departments view us as human resources. They measure our performance by mechanical standards, and our salary relies on whether or not we have added value to a corporation. Work commodifies humans as resources; it is why HR departments exist. You are coal to be mined.”

  2. Gen Z women struggle to find their way in Christian faith and community: A recent Barna study reports, “Currently, young adult women report the lowest rates of Bible reading, prayer and church attendance among their peers.”

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Unbelief Isn't a Sin, or Is It?

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Unbelief Isn't a Sin, or Is It?

An earnest interlocutor responded to me, “God wouldn’t hold it against me if I don’t believe in him, would he? If he hasn’t made faith clear enough, isn’t that his responsibility?”

Is unbelief a sin? Surely not!

Culturally, we don’t take unbelief very seriously. We tend to think of unbelief as a neutral characteristic, if not even something that might show a particular strength of character. We might consider someone who doesn’t believe as being sharp minded, thoughtful, or not gullible.

Many Christians even diminish the nature of unbelief. I recently read a book by a popular pastor who claimed that Jesus didn’t call his followers to believe,

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