Christian Living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth
John Beeson
Listen to Your Life

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.

Listen to Your Life
Church, Prayer
John Beeson
Pray As You Ought

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.

Pray As You Ought
Recommendations, Family, Culture, Marriage, Movie Reviews, Politics, Relationships
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. 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.”

  2. 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.”

This Week's Recommendations
Church, Leadership
John Beeson
How Church Abuse Reveals the Lies We Tell ...

Three years ago an atomic bomb hit the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, with an estimated 14 million members across more than 47,000 churches. An in-depth investigative report demonstrated that the Executive Committee of the SBC was aware of pervasive sexual malfeasance in their ranks over the past fifteen years and refused to act. The Executive Committee swept sexual abuse allegations under the rug, perpetrators were moved from one congregation to another to hide their abuse, and earnest appeals for reform were denied.

How Church Abuse Reveals the Lies We Tell Ourselves
Christian Living
John Beeson
How Christian Border Patrol Agents Think About ...

“I have to make sure I’m never in uniform in public.” I sat down over pizza with two border patrol agents and chatted about their experience as Christian agents. Living near the border, we have a number of Border Patrol Agents who attend at our church. I wanted to hear from them what their experience was and hear how their experience could shape the church’s thoughts concerning illegal immigration.  

Over the course of three meetings, I met with four agents and listened as they shared their perspective on serving as Border Patrol Agents. All of them share an unbending commitment to uphold the law of the land and protect our borders and to care for the people they engage

How Christian Border Patrol Agents Think About the Border
, ,

Do You Have a Gethsemane Faith?

, ,
Do You Have a Gethsemane Faith?

Little kids love re-watching movies. The movie might play in the background as a sort of interactive wallpaper, as their attention is locked on playing with the nearest doll or a truck. Then they’ll freeze, attention rapt on the screen, “This is my favorite part!” The movie is no longer the wallpaper; it is a focal point.

Many of us have faith that latches onto specific parts of the Easter story. But the gospel includes every part of the story. Is there an aspect of the Easter story that you focus on? Over the next two weeks, we will consider five parts of the Easter story and reflect on how each component can enrich our faith.

, , , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. May a Christian Gamble? Jim Newheiser warns, “Gambling is an attempt to circumvent God’s way of gaining wealth. Even if you do not expect to become wealthy personally through gambling, you are participating in a system that undermines the work ethic of our entire society.”

  2. Public Trust in Pastors Falls to Historic Lows: Aaron Earls reports, “Trust in pastors fell for the third straight year and reached an all-time low. Around 1 in 3 Americans (34%) rate the honesty and ethical standards of clergy as high or very high, according to the latest Gallup survey.”

  3. Not Enough of Me to Go Around: Kristen Wetherel reflects, “I want so badly to “help [everyone] when [they want me to].” I have told my daughter that I’m not an octopus—but boy, do I wish I was. (At least in the sense of having eight capacities at once. I do not wish to become a sea creature with tentacles rather than arms…).”

  4. Why Should I Forgive? Guy Richards confesses, “Deep down inside, I don’t really want to forgive my wife, my son, or my co-worker—at least not initially. I want instead to hold on to my anger and pride, knowing that I really was right all along. I want to prop up my feelings of superiority and self-respect and to feel vindicated for acting the way that I did.”

  5. Local Man Crushing Bible-in-a-Year Plan After Switching to Jesus Storybook Bible: Funny stuff from the Babylon Bee.

,

Keeping Our Eyes on Today, not Tomorrow

,
Keeping Our Eyes on Today, not Tomorrow

I love dreaming about and planning for tomorrow. Want to draw up a strategic plan? Count me in. Want to talk about which young basketball or football star will have the best career? Let’s go. Do you have predictions about the 2024 presidential election? Pull up a chair. Want to prognosticate about what the church is going to look like in 20 years? I would love to hear your thoughts.

, ,

How to Invite Someone to Church

, ,
How to Invite Someone to Church

An encouraging study by Lifeway Research found that two-thirds of churchgoers invited someone to church in the last six months. When was the last time you invited someone to church? Who is the next person God might have you invite?

Inviting someone to church isn’t, of course, a substitute for evangelism, but it sure is a great partner in our evangelistic efforts. Similar to our homes, our churches ought to be a place that, while they are primarily for the gathered body of Christ, are also always welcoming to the outsider.

, , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Don’t Let Your Wrath Make You a Wraith: Trevin Wax warns us, “The frightening future for the unforgiving isn’t in encountering a ghost but in becoming a ghost yourself, perpetually haunted by resentment and wrath until your humanity is diminished.”

  2. Reminding Ourselves to Forgive—Even After We’ve Said the Words: Lara d’Entremont’s related post begins, “We often picture forgiveness as a single moment—not a journey. We imagine a moment of tears as each party repents and asks the other for forgiveness. We imagine hugs and handshakes. What we don’t usually imagine is a journey. But what if a journey is a more apt description? What if forgiveness isn’t only a moment, but also a journey of reminding ourselves of the forgiveness received and given? What if forgiveness is refusing revenge and bitterness?”

  3. Deaths of Despair and Loss of Religion Linked: Steve Goldstein reports, “So-called deaths of despair such as from suicide or alcohol abuse have been skyrocketing for middle-aged white Americans. It’s been blamed on various phenomenon, including opioid abuse. But a new research paper finds a different culprit — declining religious practice.”

  4. The Murderer Who Crushed a Worm: Tim Challies points to a gentle warming from F.B. Meyers, “Guard especially against heart-hardening. Hard hearts are unbelieving ones; therefore beware of ossification of the heart. The hardest hearts were soft once, and the softest may get hard.”

  5. What was God Doing Before Creation? Michael Reeves packs a lot into his two-minute answer to this question.

,

Don't "Give Yourself Grace"

,
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, and his wife had demanded 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.

, ,

The Tears of Success

, ,
The Tears of Success

Angel Mateo was 17 months old when he entered our lives. We were his first non-family placement, but his fourth placement in four months. He had been shipped from one family member to another until none were left. We expected a traumatized child to arrive at our front door. But Angel Mateo had almost no signs of trauma. He slept like a rock, met every strange new face with poise, and greeted every ball he saw with an enthusiastic “BALL!” as though it was the first time he had encountered this spherical admixture of magic and fun. Joy exuded through every pore of this boy.

We fell in love.

, , ,

This Week's Recommendations

, , ,
This Week's Recommendations

  1. How Much Money Americans Say They Need to Feel Rich: Kamaron McNair reports (note how much one’s current income determines one’s response), “An annual income of $1 million or more was the most popular answer, with 22% of respondents saying they need to rake in seven figures to feel rich.”

  2. Wrinkles in Time: Kristin reflects, “Stirred by her actions, I realized that I want to move happily ahead on the path called today, serving my family and friends, playing peekaboo with our grandson, and forgetting all about me. This does not happen naturally, does it?”

  3. How the Doctrine of Exclusivity Made me a Christian: Mason Jones reflects on his conversion, “Before I became a Christian, I had a strictly physicalist worldview that left no room for objective moral principles. My biggest objection to such principles was that they’d require some absolute standard that transcended the physical universe.”

  4. The Devil is Blinding You to Glory: Jacob Crouch begins, “Have you ever felt cold towards the gospel? Have you heard that Christ died for your sins and was raised from the dead and just felt blah. If that is you, because I know it has been me at times, then I want to alert you to something. This is more than just unfortunate; this is war. And this coldness to Christ is a direct attack from the enemy. The devil is blinding you to glory.”

  5. The Prince: This podcast series on the backstory of the world’s most powerful man, Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping, was an eye-opener for me.

, , ,

My Son Can’t Ride a Bike: Failures in Parenting

, , ,
My Son Can’t Ride a Bike: Failures in Parenting

Our son Soren is seventeen years old. And he doesn’t know how to ride his bike. I share this as a confession. Soren is more comfortable with this fact than I am. As parents, we feel responsible for equipping our kids for the world. But what does it mean to prepare our children for life? What does it mean to be a successful parent? When you think of it, the demands are overwhelming, isn’t it?

, , , ,

How To Battle Lust

, , , ,
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?   

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!