By Jesse Jost

I have numerous posts that come across my feed asking “Are you awake yet?” and telling me to “Wake Up!”

I hear warnings that a new world order is coming, the church is headed for persecution, our freedoms are a thing of the past, and that we are headed straight for economic collapse and communist dictatorship.

These things may all be true, only time will tell, but what is driving me crazy right now, is that hardly any of these posts give me any practical steps I can take to do anything constructive with this ominous information.

It’s as if people just enjoy casting prophecies of terror and just letting them hang in the air like a horror movie sound track.

I’ve seen over the years that God has given me a sphere of responsibility – actions He is calling me to take.

But there is also a sphere or jurisdiction that is way bigger than me, things that are out of my control. These things are God’s responsibilities.

By Jesse Jost

I finished 50 books this past year. Here are my top 10 with a word of recommendation, as well as the 10 that just missed the cut but are still highly recommended, and also a complete list of all 50 books.

10. Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920’s

by Frederick Lewis Allen

The 1920’s were a fascinating and often overlooked time in North American history, a decade of religious decline, sexual revolution, family upheaval, and booming business. Frederick Allen wrote this book in the early 1930s. His voice is fresh and his eye for interesting detail makes for a riveting read. I loved his sequel about the 1930s:

Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America, September 3, 1929–September 3, 1939

by Frederick Lewis Allen

9. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

by Timothy J. Keller

Timothy Keller always writes with simplicity, but profound depth, and has much practical application. His book on prayer covers the subject in rich historical detail and draws from a wide range of Christian thinkers on the subject. An excellent and soul-stirring overview.

8. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

by Cal Newport

Is modern technology serving us, or are we becoming enslaved? I got an eye-opening look at the ways that social media and our devices are designed to make us addicted and take more from us than we intend to give.

Newport is not anti-technology and he sees the value in social media, but he challenges us to live the life we want to be living rather than carelessly throwing away our most valuable possession: Our time.

I also high recommend “Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life” by Nir Eyal, Julie Li which also covers similar themes.

By Jesse Jost

We sure seem to be in the thick of spiritual battle right now. When in the heat of a war zone, armor suddenly becomes a lot more precious! We desperately need our spiritual armor.

The first piece of armor that Paul mentions in Ephesians is the Belt of Truth. The belt in his day provided a place to tuck the long tunic so you didn’t trip and fall on your own clothing. Truth is one of our most critical protections.

But what is truth?

Today with the vast amounts of data, memes, talking clips, and rumors, information and disinformation, truth about what is going on is harder to discern than ever.

With trust in mainstream media evaporating, people are turning to social media for their news and information. It seems more free and less subject to government censorship, as anyone can share their perspective.

The problem is that social media outlets like Facebook, don’t care about informing you as much as they care about winning your attention.

by Jesse Jost

“The science is clear” has to be one of the most division-causing sentiments of our time. It is a phrase used confidently and sometimes condescendingly by people on opposite sides of an issue.

If you can find intelligent people arguing for opposite positions, there is a good chance that the science is not as clear as one side wants you to believe it is.

We live in confusing times and we are desperate for certainty and clarity. But the reality is that 2020 has thrown us a whirlwind of issues that are complex and baffling. We have educated experts confidently giving us articles and sound bites that make their point of view sound obviously correct.

It’s easy to come away from these articulations feeling confident that we have the truth, and that those who see it differently are gullible “sheeple” who refuse to think for themselves. Both sides can feel this way about those who disagree.

Emotional certainty that we are correct and have an issue all figured out is comforting in confusing times, but this confidence is rarely warranted by the evidence.

Scientific truths are far more challenging to discover and establish than Facebook memes would have you believe. Here are some cautions to keep in mind as you navigate scientific claims and arguments.