
Author: the Josh Benner Blog
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Heaven isn’t going to boring, it’s going to be awesome

In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”
Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.
A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint. (more…)
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Can a loving God allow hell to exist?

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons Hell is a tough doctrine.
In his book the Problem of Pain, CS Lewis sums up what I think many would agree with: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.”
We’re fine with the idea of a loving God, but we’re less accepting of a God who judges.
With the idea of hell, It can seem unfair. We can feel tempted to justify why hell doesn’t exist. Or maybe we think that hell is really just for people who are really, really bad. (more…)
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The next president is not a savior

Photo credit: Zach Rudisin The political division is incredible. The name calling. The condescension. The assumptions we make about the people who support the other candidate. It’s unfortunate. (more…)
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The importance of constant gospel focus

As someone who doesn’t have kids, over the last few years, more and more of my friends have began to have children.
When you have your first kid, you’re a member of a new club. You are a parent. Being a parent is something that becomes part of who you are. Your whole life, you haven’t had kids….but then you leave the hospital, and you have this baby.
I’ve always thought, “Wow. That must be so…weird!”
Your whole life, you haven’t had kids, and then suddenly you have one, and forever. (more…)