Worship
John Beeson
Lost in Literal

Today I get to share with you another poem from my daughter Camille. This poem is based on Nicodemus’s interaction with Jesus in  John 3:1-15. Enjoy! -John

Lost in Literal
Recommendations, Culture, Wisdom
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. When safety becomes a god: Christopher Cook warns, “We’re living in a cultural moment where safety has been enthroned as the highest virtue. You hear it everywhere: “I need to feel safe here.” “I need to feel seen.” “I need to feel welcome.” On the surface, these phrases sound kind. Compassionate, even. But beneath the sentimental polish, there’s often an unspoken expectation: ‘Don’t challenge me.’”

  2. A biblical pathway to emotional wisdom: Dan Brewer says, “Our emotions are not a flaw in God’s design. They are not a curse either—they are a gift.

This Week's Recommendations
Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Culture
John Beeson
Hurt Feelings

Feelings matter. Even if we are certain that truth is firmly in our grasp, it isn’t appropriate to use it like a whip on the back of the skeptic.

In a desire to restore the balance of perceived power, contemporary Western culture has offered a wider berth for those who have historically wielded less power. Our culture declares that our privilege determines whether or not we are allowed to share “our truth.” Intersectionality doles out chips based on a group’s power. Those who come from advantaged portions of society are given fewer chips in order to balance the conversation.

Hurt Feelings
Christian Living, Consumerism, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
My Wandering Eye and Jesus' Single Eye

Who among us, if given the possibility, wouldn’t take an extra hour in the day or an extra day in the week?

We stuff life to the fullest and then sprinkle more on the top. Why put your kid in one club when you can put them in a club and a sport? Why follow one sport, when you can follow all the major sports? Why be smart, when you can be smart and healthy? Our flesh tempts us to pack more in; Jesus tells us to live with single priority.

My Wandering Eye and Jesus' Single Eye
Recommendations, Church, Counseling, Theology
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. How Christians can inadvertently moralize unpleasant emotions: Brad Hambrick asks, “’What percentage of our unpleasant emotions are accounted for by sin and how much by suffering?’ The simple answer is, “We don’t know.” If anyone says with confidence that most unpleasant emotions are caused by one or the other, they are merely revealing their bias.”

  2. Everything matters: Christa Threlfall says, “It’s not enough to eliminate the “big sins” that other people can see; Jesus wants every part of our being to belong to him.”

This Week's Recommendations

Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. When safety becomes a god: Christopher Cook warns, “We’re living in a cultural moment where safety has been enthroned as the highest virtue. You hear it everywhere: “I need to feel safe here.” “I need to feel seen.” “I need to feel welcome.” On the surface, these phrases sound kind. Compassionate, even. But beneath the sentimental polish, there’s often an unspoken expectation: ‘Don’t challenge me.’”

  2. A biblical pathway to emotional wisdom: Dan Brewer says, “Our emotions are not a flaw in God’s design. They are not a curse either—they are a gift.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. How Christians can inadvertently moralize unpleasant emotions: Brad Hambrick asks, “’What percentage of our unpleasant emotions are accounted for by sin and how much by suffering?’ The simple answer is, “We don’t know.” If anyone says with confidence that most unpleasant emotions are caused by one or the other, they are merely revealing their bias.”

  2. Everything matters: Christa Threlfall says, “It’s not enough to eliminate the “big sins” that other people can see; Jesus wants every part of our being to belong to him.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Take a closer look at Noah’s ark: Pete Lee says, “An analysis of its design indicates that the ark represents three things: a microcosm of creation, a temple-home, and an emblem of resurrection.”

  2. God is everywhere, why go to church? James Williams says, “Of course we can meet with God anywhere, but is that a good reason to dismiss ourselves from a local church? Thankfully, God’s word isn't silent.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The lesbian seagulls that weren’t: Maria Baer reports on when “NPR’s popular Radiolab podcast tries but fails to find homosexuality in nature.”

  2. Multiply your time with this simple framework: Craig Groeschel with some helpful advice. His first piece of advice is to “Schedule your values. Wise time management doesn’t mean you do more. It means you do more of what matters you most, so you need to schedule your values.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Relating to a narcissist: Ed Welch with a thoughtful and empathetic treatment of a growing concern, “Diagnostic labels have their benefits and liabilities. They can help you see certain behaviors. They can also blind you by leading you to believe that everything is a result of the diagnoses, which it is not. For the person who wears the label, the word can be meaningless or offensive. It will not help.”

  2. 6 kinds of hearers of God’s Word: Brian Najapfour pulls his list straight from scripture. For instance, “She knows that she has blemishes, but she is afraid to face them. Like someone who avoids the doctor for fear of a bad diagnosis, Mrs. Afraid resists the conviction of the Word. She does not want to be confronted with the cost of repentance.”

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Jesus doesn’t use fake plants: Casey McCall writes, “I get the appeal of fake plants. We want the fruit without the work, the aesthetic without the need to provide care. In my house, we’ve killed our fair share of indoor plants by neglecting to provide water and sunlight. Nonetheless, I’d rather have no plants than fake ones.”

  2. Discipline, delight, and staying on the path: Glenna Marshall begins, “My husband and I took our kids on a hike not too long ago, and before we hit the trail, we warned both of our sons to stay on the path at all times. The woods were filled with poison ivy, and one of my sons is quite the explorer.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. The wilderness was never meant to last forever: Christopher Cook says, “The wilderness was never meant to be your home. For many of us, however, it has become one (a dysfunctionally comfortable one at that). Not because God’s promises changed, and not because your story was disqualified, but rather, because somewhere along the way, you might have stopped listening to the voice of the Lord and trusting His nature and His ways.”

  2. The great friendship collapse: In this video, Derek Thompson explains why we spend more time than ever and what the impact that has had on us.

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Who are You?

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Who are You?

Do you want to know God better? Know yourself better. You, after all, were made in his image. Do you want to know yourself better? Know God better.

My wife Angel and I wrote Trading Faces: Removing the Masks that Hide Your God-Given Identity in order to combat the lies we are tempted to believe about who we are and press into God’s Word to hear his truth.

Many have asked when the audiobook will release. We are delighted to share that the Trading Faces audiobook is now available!

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Will I ever love a church again? Brittany Allen asks, “Could I reclaim that vulnerability that once came so naturally to me after it had been used as a weapon pointed at my own heart? Could God rebuild my faith in his Bride and redeem what had been lost?”

  2. The hidden curriculum of the wilderness: Christopher Cook says, “When you’re in that space—the wilderness between who you were and who you’re becoming—you will be tempted to mislabel it; to call it punishment; to rebuke it like it’s an attack; even, to distract yourself from it.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Four good questions to ask your tech: Tim Challies says, “We are in constant communication with our devices and through our devices. And since we are already in the habit of asking them our deep and personal questions, perhaps it would do us good to ask them some good and honest questions about themselves. Here are four questions I propose we ask of any technology that has become (or has the potential to become) deeply embedded in our lives.”

  2. Embracing the silence: Christopher Cook says, “We’re spiritually exhausted, disoriented, and desperate to hear from God. And in our desperation, we turn up the volume, hoping that more input will lead to more clarity. But the Lord doesn’t compete with the chaos. His voice doesn’t cut through the noise. It waits for stillness.”

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