• Mom & Bob

    My Mom’s Final Breath

    January 2, 2014 by · 7 Comments

    It can only happen once in a lifetime: you watch your Mom take her final breath. Nine difficult days had passed since the car accident. Although she was still in the intensive care unit, there were reasons to hope my Mom would eventually recover. It was Christmas Eve morning and I arrived at the hospital…
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  • The Talk

    The Talk, Tim Keller, and a Video about Sex

    December 5, 2013 by · 2 Comments

    I recently had “The Talk” with my fifth-grade son. It was very brief and went something like this: Son, I can pretty much tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about sex in one sentence: God made sex. And if you do sex God’s way, it will turn out good. But if you don’t…
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  • Amy and Rita Bevington

    Forgiveness

    October 18, 2013 by · 6 Comments

    FROM BOB: The following blog post was written by my former wife. She will be in Tampa, Florida next week teaching a conference on Forgiveness. She knows a lot about the subject. I hope many show up and listen carefully to her. FORGIVENESS, by Rita Bevington In the film Under the Tuscan Sun, actor Diane…
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  • Prayer 2

    Jesus’ SCARS: How to Spend Quality Time with God

    September 25, 2013 by · 5 Comments

    A couple years ago I re-worked the well-known ACTS acrostic and found it to be a game-changer in my morning time with God. Recently I re-worked the re-work to make it clearer and hopefully more useful to others. Here it is: Jesus:  Start by simply meditating on the Person of Christ. Set your heart and…
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Three Bevingtons on Moody Radio “Java with Juli”

Bob Bevington
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Three Bevingtons on Moody Radio “Java with Juli” | August 25th, 2014

Three Bevingtons on Moody Radio “Java with Juli”

By | Forgiveness

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Bevington PhotoThe interviewees: My wife, Amy. My former wife, Rita. And myself.

The interviewer: Dr. Juli Slattery. The program:  Java with Juli. It aired last week on Moody radio affiliates across the country including WCRF. You can hear the half-hour broadcast at this LINK.

Our story of sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation began 18 years ago with all the toxic angst and drama of divorce. Eventually the three of us began to discover and apply the transforming power of the gospel. We are still learning. Meanwhile the amount of healing has been amazing–extending to and through all four of my children, and reaching out to help others through the book, Red Like Blood and the Oasis class at Christ Community Chapel.

If you listen carefully, you will hear the real story–how the dots connect all the way back to the cross.  [Read more...]

Leaving My Mark, by Jen Phipps

Bob Bevington
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Leaving My Mark, by Jen Phipps | August 18th, 2014

Leaving My Mark, by Jen Phipps

By | A Journey Called LIFE

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John Owen, Mark, and Jen

John Owen, Mark, and Jen

Jen Phipps is a cancer patient on her second round of chemo, and a member of my community group, The Cellar Dwellers. Her journey has been inspiring to many, so I thought I’d share her recent Facebook post here:

LEAVING MY MARK, by Jen Phipps

Pulling up to my parents’ house, there it was, a gleaming and newly poured sidewalk. I immediately made plans to write my initials in a small corner of one of the cement pads. After taking my 2-year-old, John Owen, inside and visiting for a few minutes, I headed out for my weekly blood draw, but first I must leave my mark. Come on, I have cancer and I want my son to be able to look where his mama wrote her initials in front of granny and grandpa’s house. “JEP” neatly written with the tip of a branch. 

I returned to pick up my little guy. We visited for a few more minutes and out the door we went- only to discover they were smoothing the cement over again! Standing on the front stoop with my mom and John Owen, I said, “Well, I’ll just have to leave my mark in something better than concrete!” 

One day that sidewalk will be gone, but the souls I come in contact with will go on. My desire is to be God’s tool that leaves an eternal mark on those around me. As a former atheist I want to bring the good news of what Jesus has done for me to those God has put in my path. That includes anyone reading this right now. Know that He loves you, He died for you, and He came that you might have life eternal with Him. 

Entrust your soul to Him and be His tool to leave your mark on the soul of another. 

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Acts 9:15 [Read more...]

Why Jesus Came to Die

Bob Bevington
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Why Jesus Came to Die | April 19th, 2014

Why Jesus Came to Die

By | The Cross

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Psalm22In Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, John Piper lists, To Absorb the Wrath of God as reason number one. I think this is the clearest 500-word, 2-minute description of the love of God and sin of man I have ever read. You can download the entire book for free at this LINK. Each reason is two pages and a great way to start your day with the peace and joy that flows from the cross of Christ:

If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.

God’s law demanded, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.

Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial—it is treason. It defames God and destroys human happiness.

Since God is just, [Read more...]

Good Friday: The Best Day of All

Bob Bevington
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Good Friday: The Best Day of All | April 17th, 2014

Good Friday: The Best Day of All

By | The Cross

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Good FridayMaybe you’ve noticed. I haven’t been blogging this year. Instead, I’ve been spending most of my time working on two projects. The first is a book on the presence and glory of Christ. It’s literally the biggest topic in the universe ever. So it’s taking a bit longer than expected. Second is a book on spiritual warfare. It’s one of the most overlooked topics for Christians. It’s perplexing, too. So I’m glad to have a very capable co-author for that one.

But here we are on the brink of Good Friday, the one day that always pulls me up short. Time stops on Good Friday at 6:00am. In preparation I couldn’t resist blogging some Good Friday cheer:

Anyone with a personal sin dilemma should agree–Good Friday is the most important and precious of all the holidays. Why? Because it connects us to the great purpose and plan of redemption that required the unthinkable incarnation of the Son of God (Christmas) and was validated in the glorious resurrection of the Son of Man (Easter). Erase Good Friday, and Christmas and Easter become merely miraculous, and not relevant to us at all.

Jesus hung suspended between heaven and earth, and Good News for sinners began with his final words, “It is finished.”

Draw near to Him in the Gospel narratives.  See Him at the blazing center of the glory of God, where the justice of God collided with the love of God in the sin-bearing body of the sinless Son of God on the Tree (1 Peter 2:24). When you recognize the origin of the sin at the Cross as your sin, Good Friday quite easily becomes The Best Day of All.

On Resurrection Sunday we should sing and feast and click up our heels. But let Good Friday take our breath away.

I plan to start at 6:00am by re-reading the Scriptures from Joe’s BLOG POST this week at CoffeyTalk.com. I will also read from Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die which is available for free from DesiringGod.org in PDF format at this LINK. It’s one of my all-time favorite books, for 50 obvious reasons. And I will listen to the song below over and over again with absolute gladness.

O love of God, o sin of man, in this dread act your strength is tried.
And victory remains with [Read more...]

My Mom’s Final Breath

Bob Bevington
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My Mom’s Final Breath | January 2nd, 2014

My Mom’s Final Breath

By | Featured

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Mom & BobIt can only happen once in a lifetime: you watch your Mom take her final breath.

Nine difficult days had passed since the car accident. Although she was still in the intensive care unit, there were reasons to hope my Mom would eventually recover.

It was Christmas Eve morning and I arrived at the hospital early in a cheerful mood, expecting to see her smile. I met the nurse in the hallway and she told me things were “the same.” Not a bad report, given all my Mom had suffered. I walked into the room and our eyes met. But instead of smiling, she started coughing. The nurse yelled for help and within seconds the room was full of people dressed in scrubs trying to save my Mom’s life. a few minutes later they stopped trying. The doctor looked at me and said, “She still has a pulse but it wouldn’t be long.”

So I stood there, by her bedside, dissolved into tears and whispering goodbyes into her ear.

I love you. You were the best Mom ever. And you have a great Savior. He is all you need right now. He’s waiting for you with open arms. I will see you again soon and everything will be better. Good bye Mom. I love you. You were the best Mom ever.

When I was a kid growing up all my friends wished they had a Mom like mine. She really was the best Mom ever–right up to her final breath. My 12-minute tribute to her is below [Read more...]

The Talk, Tim Keller, and a Video about Sex

Bob Bevington
Written By:
The Talk, Tim Keller, and a Video about Sex | December 5th, 2013

The Talk, Tim Keller, and a Video about Sex

By | Featured

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The TalkI recently had “The Talk” with my fifth-grade son. It was very brief and went something like this:

Son, I can pretty much tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about sex in one sentence: God made sex. And if you do sex God’s way, it will turn out good. But if you don’t do sex God’s way it will cause all kinds of problems.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I realized it was actually three sentences. But he didn’t seem to notice. So I asked,

Any questions?

He didn’t have any so I figured I must have done a good enough job.

But then I came across this video of Tim Keller talking about sex. How Keller can pack so many profound insights into a 2-minute video amazes me. [Read more...]

Jen Phipps on Channel 5 News

Bob Bevington
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Jen Phipps on Channel 5 News | November 28th, 2013

Jen Phipps on Channel 5 News

By | Faith

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Mark-Jen-John-Owen-300x196Jen Phipps has been featured HERE at RedLikeBlood.com before. You might remember her one-year-old son, John Owen. Jen’s inspiring story of faith has continued–and today, on Thanksgiving, it even made the network news!

The 2-MINUTE version ran on television. But the longer version shown below is worth every minute. Especially toward the end. Sorry about unavoidable the 15-second commercial. But when you begin to understand everything Jen’s been through, little things seem like what they really are–insignificant.

What is significant is a person finding the source of her strength in the Living God. And finding Christ-centered faith to rise above her circumstances and keep her eye on the goal of bringing glory to God–no matter what. Jen also speaks of the blessings of receiving support from a “Christian community in action.”

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for many things. One big one is knowing Jen Phipps and being encouraged by her life as [Read more...]

Does Billy Graham Listen to Rap?

Bob Bevington
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Does Billy Graham Listen to Rap? | November 11th, 2013

Does Billy Graham Listen to Rap?

By | |

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Try to imagine 95-year-old Billy Graham sitting on a rocking chair in his log cabin tapping his foot while listening to rap music. It now appears this has actually happened.

Furthermore, Billy must have actually approved of at least one rapper, Lecrae, or else he wouldn’t have included him in his Final Sermon–one that has already reached tens of millions via video and is likely to become recognized as the powerful and complete gospel message of his long and famous life. It’s a must-see. It’s called, The Cross.

Does Billy Graham listen to rap? Yes. But this begs an even bigger question: Does God listen to rap?

Well. Does He? Because if He does, there are a lot of implications for those of us who tend to normalize Christianity into the limited range of categories with which we are personally familiar and comfortable.

Does God listen to rap? If you, like me, would be inclined to answer, No way! you’ll be challenged [Read more...]

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