When was the last time you prayed for a miracle?
Do you ever find yourself struggling to pray boldly in your prayers? I do.
Recently the New Life elders had the blessing of praying for a man with multiple sclerosis. I found myself battling over how assertive my prayers for healing ought to be. Should I be praying more for physical healing, or more for strength and faith as he battles the autoimmune disease?
We hold both of these impulses in prayer. To only pray for the miraculous and neglect the formative aspects of suffering is to fall into the lie of the prosperity gospel…
Some therapists aren’t telling you the truth: Christopher Cook begins, “Somewhere along the way, a cadre of therapists stopped telling people the truth. What began as a space for self-examination, emotional healing, and forward movement has slowly morphed into a mirror, one that reflects dysfunction and calls it authenticity.”
School choice participation up 25%: Adam Wittenberg reports that, “These gains mark a seismic shift in how America educates its children.”
My wife is very comfortable with quiet. I admire her ability to sit peacefully and listen to God. Me? Not so much. I work out with audiobooks or podcasts as my audio backdrop. I write with music on.
There are benefits to this audio soundscape that I live in. It means that I input quite a lot of information. I benefit from many wise voices and am grateful for the gift of music which inspires, soothes, and provokes.
The problem with a life of input is that it can choke out self-reflection and even the voice of God.
I was in the service, away at Boot Camp, and I'd discovered that the only place I could gain some reprieve from the grindstone was at church on Sunday mornings. Much like the rest of the troop who figured it out, I squeezed into the pews, one bald head in fatigues among a throng of bald heads in fatigues. The chaplain sermonized over the importance of perseverance, and at the end of the service, slapped a Bible in each of our hands. I took to reading that Bible every night after lights out—the first time I ever opened one intentionally in my life.
Is Charlie Kirk’s assassination a turning point? Brett McCracken says, “From his Christian convictions he advocated for pro-life protections and traditional marriage when many older politicians in conservatism had abandoned these causes. On issues like transgenderism, Kirk helped the rising generation see the “reality-respecting” dynamics of conservatism in contrast to the more aggressively reality-denying tendencies of progressivism.”
New study highlights widespread spirituality among non-religious adults around the world: Lots of encouragement and fodder for Christians as they pray for those who haven’t yet trusted Christ, ““Many religiously unaffiliated adults also express belief in God,” Pew reported, pointing to especially high numbers in South America: 92 percent in Brazil, 86 percent in Colombia, and 69 percent in Chile. South Africa shows a similar pattern, with 77 percent of “nones” affirming belief in a higher power.”
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
What emotions do those seven words invoke in you? How does the resurrection make you feel?
What if we could feel more like God? What if we could allow God into our emotional life? This series of posts invites us to consider Holy Week as revelatory to us not just in its spiritual impact, but also its emotional impact (perhaps next year we might walk through Holy Week and consider the ramifications it has for our bodies!).
My wife and I curled up on our daughter’s first big girl bed. Camille was three at the time and Soren was just one year old. We picked up where we were in their children’s Bible as we read to them before they slept. I flipped the cardboard page past the story of the Last Supper to the crucifixion.
Alongside the picture of Christ hanging on a cross, the author explained, “Then bad men who didn’t like Jesus put him on a cross.”
Angel and I looked at each other quizzically. That’s it? That’s the crucifixion story? I flipped the page where the story continued with the story of the resurrection of Christ. That didn’t help. The author hadn’t even explained that Jesus had died. And what was the reason he died? Because “bad men” didn’t like him?
We both realized we would have to go off script for this story. There was much more to share about Jesus’ crucifixion with our kids than the author thought was necessary.
As a culture, we cringe at sharing hard things with our kids. We brush over disappointment and sadness and shut down negative emotions in our children. For many, this is a learned behavior. We were taught that we were only allowed to share good things with our families.
It’s not surprising, then, that we have a hard time going to dark places with God in our lives, then. But to the heights of the rescue of Christ, we must also experience the valleys of his death. God invites us to walk with Jesus into the emotions of the cross. The crucifixion of Christ isn’t a static spiritual reality, but a physical, emotional, and spiritual experience God invites us into.
The Passion of the Christ hit box offices in February of 2004 to mixed reviews. Some criticized the movie for being overly graphic in its depiction of Christ’s death. Because of their understanding of the second commandment where God instructs his people not to make any graven images, other Christians were uneasy with a depiction of Christ on screen.
Whether you loved or hated The Passion of the Christ, if you watched the movie, I doubt you forgot it. The movie flattened me emotionally and spiritually. For that, I’m grateful.
As we approach Good Friday, I invite you to experience the cross again. As you read Matthew’s account, what emotions do you think Jesus was feeling? The thief on the cross? Mary? John? The Centurion?
How is your life shaped by Easter week? I mean other than the obligatory 3 pounds that is about to be added to your waistline courtesy of honey baked ham, deviled eggs, and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups (if you’re going to put on the weight, it might as well be good… not Peeps or generic jelly beans!)?
What reminders do the final week of Jesus’ life bring to our every-day lives?
The final week of Jesus’ life takes up a disproportionate amount of the gospel narratives. Approximately a third of the gospel accounts are devoted to the final week of Jesus’ life:
· 8 of 28 chapters in Matthew
· 6 of 16 chapters in Mark
· 5 of 24 chapters in Luke
· 9 of 21 chapters in John
Of the 52 weeks of our year, Holy Week is highlighted and underlined. On this week the other 51 weeks of our year hang, on this week, the other 51 are shaped.
How does the Holy Week shape our lives?
1) Palm Sunday reminds us how different the true King is.
I’ve been able to hit the 100-plateau of books the past few years. This year I read 111 books (the symmetry of that number made me smile). If you wonder how I read that much, this post might help spur you on and provide some practical pointers in your reading journey in 2022. I love reading for many reasons. It’s a gift to be in conversation with a multitude of wise voices, to be invited into the imaginative worlds of some of the best minds of our time, and to grow in empathy and understanding as I step into the shoes of those very different from myself.
I love the gift of reading books with friends. Most of the books I read are recommended by friends and I love it when friends read a book I recommend. If you read any of the books recommended below, I would love to hear what you think. And I would love to hear what your favorite books of 2021 were. If you want fuller reviews on any of the books listed above or just want to connect on an ongoing basis about reading, I encourage you to friend me on Goodreads.
Let me start with my three favorite books of 2021, and then we will get to the rest of the action:
Ecclesia semper reformanda est: “The church must always be reformed.” It is the unofficial motto of the Protestant church. This week we celebrate not only Halloween, but the start of the Reformation. In celebrating the Reformation, we don’t merely look back at an event that took place 500 years ago, but consider the spirit of reformation that we pray remains in us as followers of Jesus Christ.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his document, the 95 Theses, to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg. For that reason, October 31st is still celebrated as Reformation Day by Protestants. The 95 Theses were Luther’s attempt to exhort the Roman Catholic Church to submit itself to the teachings of Scripture and re-align its practices with God’s revealed truth.
It’s that time of year, when transitions happen: seasons close and new seasons begin. Maybe you’re a student who just headed off to college. Maybe you got a new job. Maybe your employer transitioned you. Those are some of the many natural reasons that you might have just left or might be leaving your church in the coming weeks.
Maybe you’ve left or are planning on leaving your church for entirely different reasons, though. Maybe your pastor is in a rut. Maybe the worship grates on you. Maybe you feel like you just don’t know anyone there any longer. Maybe you were injured by someone at the church and you tense up at the awkwardness of returning. Maybe you feel like you’re not getting spiritually fed there any longer. Maybe you are frustrated with how your church has handled Covid-19.
In this four-part series we will explore appropriate reasons for leaving a church, how to leave a church, how to choose a church, and how to join a church.
Let’s explore some of the most common reasons[i] people leave the church and reflect whether they are appropriate or not.
1) I feel disconnected
“The church doesn’t feel like home any longer. My friends have left and I feel like I’m at someone else’s church when I arrive.”
It’s not appropriate to leave: losing friends is hard, but we shouldn’t leave a church because our friends have left. Part of the joy of the church is that God brings together strangers into community. Do the hard work of starting a new small group or serving in a new ministry and God will surely bring about new relationships.
He Would’ve Come With Me: This is a beautiful story about how God can change hearts. He reflects, “It was, for me, one of the more miraculous heart changes I had ever seen. I remember thinking to myself, “If God can change this old man’s hatred toward Muslims, and replace it with love, well then maybe I’m not crazy for thinking God can change Muslims’ hearts as well.”
Prioritize Your Church: Brent McCracken shares The Gospel Coalition’s heart that its readers would commit to the local church. He says as much as they want you to read their articles, they urge you theirs is something they want you to do far more. “But honestly, there’s an action we’d invite you to take that’s more vital to your spiritual health than almost anything you could click on (including here). What’s the action I’m talking about? Be committed to a church.”
In the Beginning There Were No Canyons: I love this parable from Tim Challies with deep truths about our hearts and suffering. Here he describes the moment canyons were made, “So the Master spoke to the Skies and in an instant a great bolt of lightning leapt from the heavens to the earth, striking the Prairie with a heavy blow. The Prairie cried out in agony and for a long while mourned the gaping, jagged gash that had been left upon it—a deep, charred scar that contrasted sharply with the bright grasses and vivid flowers around. “Why, Master?” it sobbed in bewildered sorrow.”
Jesus isn’t Scared of My Suffering: Bethany Barnard shares the story of her struggle with severe OCD and depression. Make sure you watch her music video as well. She concludes, “The hurdles of traumatic circumstances, doubt, and mental-health struggles no longer feel disqualifying to me as a Christian. They are an irreplaceable grace he gives to reveal his heart to us.”
Magically Turning Into a Banana: This guy’s videos are fun.
Rejection that Cuts Deep: Kath Thomas with a heartbreaking reflection on their son. She begins, “I have come to believe that rejection and separation from your child is one of the most painful experiences to carry. Seven months ago, my eldest son decided he could no longer have any connection with his family. That night we were in shock, we didn’t get to ask the questions we wished we had before he left, and even now, still don’t really know why he chose this path.”
She is Broken, and She is Beautiful: I love this reflection on the church by Glenna Marshall. It begins with tragedy, “The phone rang before dawn that cold, January day. There’s never a good reason for calls so early; my heart pounded when I answered the phone. A dear church member was on the other end, her voice thick with tears and panic. Her husband died unexpectedly in the night. It was difficult to wrap my mind around this sudden news.”
The Compromise of Sexual Ethics: Brent McCracken explores what has many Christians changing their ideology around sexual ethics. He begins, “Every week it seems new CCM stars, former Christian celebrities, or Christian college graduates announce “evolving” beliefs on Christianity—how their “deconstruction” journey is leading them to reconsider or abandon faith tenets they once believed.”
How to Listen Well: This seems like such a simple thing, but it’s so important—especially in today’s world. Gem and Alan Fadling conclude, “The practice of listening can teach us to slow down inside, to focus our thoughts, to be humble and defer to others as they share. Listening can help us learn that we do not always have to be “on” or fix other people. The Lord Himself is working His own processes in each of our lives.”
Meet Baby Olivia: A powerful 3-D graphic video of life developing in the womb.
You may or may not be familiar with the name Bart Ehrman. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and skeptic. Ehrman grew up in a Christian home, attended a conservative Bible school, and then found hiw way to a liberal seminary where his faith in the God of the Bible unraveled. That seminary happens to be the seminary I would attend a couple of decades later.
For Ehrman, everywhere he looks he sees holes in the biblical story. The inconsistencies that he sees have led him to determine that he cannot trust in the God of the Bible. One of those holes that Ehrman comes back to regularly (he’s done so in his books, his blog, and in interviews) is the apparent contradictory telling of Judas’s death in the gospels. Ehrman’s perception of this apparent contradiction demonstrates the choice of faith we have.
Tears frequently flow in my office. Usually the tears don’t come before entering my office, though. I met Diane[i] in the lobby and all it took was a gentle introduction to start the flow of her tears. Her son, about my age, had died from a meth overdose a few weeks ago.
In every season, Diane prayed and cried out to God for him to rescue her son. She believed that one day her son would return to his faith. He never did so definitively. In his final days in the hospital, Diane begged her son to receive Christ and be baptized. He was in and out of consciousness. At first, he seemed to resist Diane’s faith conversations. Later, as he slipped away, it seemed to Diane like he gave indications through hand squeezes and facial expressions that he wanted her to continue reading scripture, singing worship songs, and praying. And then he died.
As she concluded her story, Diane asked me a direct question, “How can I know if he is in heaven if he was never baptized?”
Sign up to get The Bee Hive delivered to your inbox and receive a free 50 Books That Changed My Life (and Might Change Yours, Too) download!
