• 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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Why Jesus Came to Die

Bob Bevington
Written By:
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
Written By:
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
Written By:
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

2 Comments

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
Written By:
Jen Phipps on Channel 5 News | November 28th, 2013

Jen Phipps on Channel 5 News

By | Faith

1 Comment

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
Written By:
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...]

I Must Have This THING!

Sanj Kalra
Written By:
I Must Have This THING! | October 23rd, 2013

I Must Have This THING!

By | A Journey Called LIFE

3 Comments

911 (2)It was California in the summer of 1989. I had just graduated from college and was driving home from work in my Suzuki Samurai on the 90-Marina Freeway. I was following a Porsche 911 with a spoiler on its back. I wanted to catch up to it and get beside it to see who was in the car. Traffic began to slow and the spoiler began to lower and then disappear. WOW! That was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

I said to myself, I have to have that. I want that now. I must have that. I want to be that guy in that car. If I have that car then everyone will pay attention to me.

That night I took out my bucket list and added the word, Porsche.

As my income increased I began going to Porsche dealerships but the sales guys wouldn’t give me the time of day.

A few years went by and I still didn’t have the money but I was getting closer. Then my income jumped up a few notches and I was ready to make the purchase. I decided to dress in jeans and white t-shirt, walk into the dealership, and pay cash for the car. I ended up ordering a custom 911. It would be delivered directly from Stuttgart, Germany.

My car arrived in December 2004. Fifteen years had since I first got a glimpse of that rear spoiler disappearing and I was about to drive away in my very own 911. I pealed out of the dealership wanting everyone to check me out. But what happened on the ride home was not what I expected.

[Read more...]

Forgiveness

Written By:
Forgiveness | October 18th, 2013

Forgiveness

By | Featured, Forgiveness

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

Amy and Rita Bevington

AMY & RITA BEVINGTON

In the film Under the Tuscan Sun, actor Diane Lane comments, “The most surprising thing about divorce is that is doesn’t kill you instantly like a head-on car crash, because it should. Instead, we are left trying to process the impact and cope with the painful aftermath.”

I think there are few things in life more devastating than finding out that someone I once loved could become the object of my hatred. Someone I thought was my friend could become my enemy. Trust is shattered. Betrayal destroys relationship. Faith is questioned. The covenant is broken. A life built becomes the focus of a battle to dismantle. I experienced the pain, anger, and resentment of betrayal and divorce, along with it’s never ending repercussions. David describes this condition in Psalm 55: 12-14:

For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, walked in the house of God in the throng.

Who can we turn to when the one who betrays us is our spouse, relative, or close friend? Ultimately, our sinless heavenly Father is the only One who will never sin against us. He will not betray, abandon, or reject us. By contrast, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

All human beings are terminal sinners—including me. I will sin against those I love. I will fail those I love. I will be failed by those who love me. I will be betrayed. I will have pain that results from simply being in relationship with others.

Jesus himself faced betrayal. All of his closest friends deserted him at end of his life. One betrayed him, with a kiss. Sound familiar? [Read more...]

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