Welcome To Daily Thoughts For Reflection!
Taking a Look at the Origins and Objectives of DTFR
Welcome to Daily Thoughts For Reflection!
Welcome to Daily Thoughts For Reflection (DTFR)! My name is Timothy-John (TJ) Beach, and I am so glad you made it to my website/Substack. This is my first post on this Substack, and as I step into the world of online blogging, I wanted to write, if you will, a preface to the book of my blog. Just like a preface tells you the subject, scope, and aim of the book, I want to start my blog by telling you about why and how I started DTFR, who DTFR is intended for, how you can most effectively utilize DTFR, and what DTFR aims to accomplish. So please, unlike many of us assuredly do, don’t skip the preface. Maybe set it aside for when you have a little more time. It will certainly be helpful and informative for your future interactions with DTFR.
Why Another Online Blog?
Now, before I start explaining the latter points, I want to make an important preliminary comment on an obvious reality: there are already innumerable online ministries, blogs, podcasts, and resources out there that are designed to help facilitate and fuel spiritual growth and maturity. So why another one? Why another blog? Why another resource ministry? Why another person contributing their two cents to the already bursting at the seams with irrelevant information internet?
Because from the outset, I want to acknowledge the unfortunate reality that too much thoughtless, emotionally reactive, Biblically void, and unhelpful content is being produced and posted on the Internet. The drains of the Internet are clogged with discouraging, unedifying, and irrelevant content and information.
However, despite the presence of many unhelpful contributors, I believe the Internet’s ability to so widely and quickly spread information is somewhat redeemable. Even though the Internet’s waters will forever be muddy and miry, I think they can be made a bit cleaner by the pouring in of clean, pure, and truly refreshing water. Of course, I must, or else I wouldn’t be starting this Substack. However, in order to justify and clarify my presence on the web as a writer and contributor, which I technically don’t have to do but want to do, let me start by telling you how it began.
The Origin Of DTFR: Why and How I Started DTFR
The beginning of Daily Thoughts For Reflection is quite simple. Firstly, it began with me being personally changed and transformed through the habit of studying God’s Word, and with me realizing that the people around me, my family, friends, and acquaintances, can also be changed by the consistent consumption of God’s Word. DTFR began with the birth of personal passion for the Word of God, and has been built upon the conviction that when you combine the Spirit of God with the Word of God, hearts change and lives are transformed.
Secondly, DTFR began as an accountability mechanism, with me sending a Bible verse from my personal daily devotions to a couple of friends. Over time, this accountability practice evolved into a verse sent with a couple of thought-provoking questions, and then a “daily thought for reflection”, typically 200-400 words, and then into what it’s been for the past couple of months to a year, devotional type articles sent to a couple select friends and family. Originally, these reflections from God’s Word were sent every day, hence the name, “daily thoughts for reflection”. However, after a couple of weeks I quickly realized that this was not sustainable and cut the frequency to a couple times a week while still calling and officially coining what I wrote “daily thoughts for reflection”, or DTFR for short.
The Audience Of DTFR: Who DTFR Is Intended For
I love the beginning of DTFR because of how simply and naturally it evolved. I never began writing daily thoughts for reflection with the intention of creating a blog and website, and it was never intended to be sent to more than a couple of friends. I started DTFR with the simple goal (though it wasn’t that clearly articulated at the time) of seeking to exhort and encourage others to live a life of obedience to God’s Word, which flows from a deep love and affection for God’s Word (and of course, not just a love for the Word of God, but also and ultimately for the God of the Word!), which cannot exist with first learning and knowing God’s Word. In summary? I started writing DTFR to exhort, encourage, and edify those in my circles of influence with God’s Word, and to help them better learn, love, and live out God’s Word.
So that’s exactly who my intended audience is— my family, friends, local church members, classmates, coworkers, neighbors— anyone I interact with that I want to impact and influence with the heart-penetrating, life-transforming, and reality-altering insights of God’s Word.
But Again, Why Another One?
Now, I still haven’t directly answered the question, why another blog/website? As stated earlier, I am aware of the enormous amount of blogs and newsletters that already exist on the Internet, many of which, I might add, successfully help others to better learn, love, and live God’s Word. However, I still think another blog is justifiable. And here’s why. I wholeheartedly believe that God gives us all a unique window of influence and impact in different people’s lives. I believe that God providentially and intentionally places us in different places– me at my particular college, you at your particular job, someone else in their particular sports club– all for a reason. And one of those reasons is to spread the light of the gospel to the darkness around us. All of us have the opportunity to shine gospel light in unique places that others of us simply can’t access. All of us have unique windows of influence in the lives of those around us, windows of opportunity that come uniquely, and yet intentionally to us. This truth, applied to the conversation at hand, means that while many people may not listen to so and so teacher, or so and so preacher, or so and so podcaster, blogger, or influencer, they may, on the other hand, choose to listen to me, Timothy-John Beach, because of the relationship that we’ve formed and the mutual respect we’ve gained. Through DTFR, I have an opportunity to uniquely influence those around me, an opportunity that by God’s grace I want to relish and steward.
Now, all of this talk about the audience of DTFR is not meant to negate or dumb down the potential for DTFR to influence those I’ve never even met, or those I don’t know well. The beauty and power of God’s Word is that whenever it is spoken, it does not return void. (Isaiah 55:11). The beauty and power of God’s Word is that its words are universally relevant and unimaginably impactful. (Psalm 119: 105, Heb 4:12). Which means that yes, I write with an intended audience in mind, however, I also write knowing the possibility and potential of what I’ve written to impact so many others. At the end of the day, the scope and scale of DTFR’s influence is solely and sovereignly up to the Lord. I handle its depth, He chooses its width. It is as simple as that.
The Utilization Of DTFR: How You Can Effectively Use DTFR
Now, at this point in the article I want to shed some light on how DTFR is meant to, and not meant to be used. While I am mainly applying this to DTFR, the principles behind the points I’ll make can be applied to the use and consumption of virtually any online ministry. These points are simply meant to encourage you as the reader to exercise wisdom. Here they are.
The resources written on and recommended by the DTFR Substack/website are meant to:
Help fuel, not feed your personal Biblical and theological study
Every Christian needs personal Bible study. (John 15:5). Every Christian needs to be able to personally understand and apply God’s Word to their lives. By providing you with resources to aid your spiritual growth and maturity, DTFR is seeking to help fuel, not feed, and supplement, not supply your personal study of God’s Word. Never think of the resources at DTFR as a replacement for your own personal studies. Instead, think of them as a springboard and starting point for them. The DTFR Substack exists to help fuel, not feed your personal Biblical and theological study.
Help support and strengthen, not supplant and subvert your local church pastors, elders, and leaders.
I am not your local church pastor. In fact, I am not a pastor at all. And even if I was a pastor, I may not be your pastor. My point? DTFR, and in fact any ministry for that matter, is no substitute for the shepherding and care provided by your local pastor and church leaders. No matter how helpful a particular article, podcast episode, or Youtube video is, or no matter how much better that particular blogger, preacher, podcaster, or Youtuber seems than your local church leaders, the local church is always meant to take first place and receive the first priority in the life of a believer.
God has given us spiritual teachers, leaders, and shepherds for a reason. (Jeremiah 3:15, Ephesians 4:11-12). And any time we let another institution or ministry supplant the place of the church, danger is imminent, and damage is inevitable. We need our local leaders and churches, and should always prioritize them over any other online ministry or institution. The DTFR Substack exists to support, NOT supplant your local leaders and local church.
The Mission Of DTFR: What DTFR Aims to Accomplish
Ok. Thanks for hanging in here with me. If you’ve made it this far I greatly appreciate it, and don’t worry, I’m almost done! In this last section, I want to briefly break down the “mission statement” or description that pops up when you visit the DTFR Substack. The statement is this:
“Helping you to better learn, love, and live God’s Word through daily thoughts for reflection and sound Biblical resources.”
This statement encapsulates the central aim and objective of the content on DTFR. Learning more about God’s Word. Loving more of God’s Word. And living out more of God’s Word. Simple, simple, simple.
This objective is first and foremost sought to be accomplished through devotional-articles, called, with no surprise, DailyThoughtsForReflection. These devotional articles are meant to kindle spiritual thought and reflection, and are written to be gospel-centered, Scripture-saturated, simple without being superficial, insightful, easy-to-read, and practical. They are meant to be a source of spiritual exhortation, edification, and encouragement.
The second way this objective is sought to be accomplished is through both providing and pointing you to sound Biblical resources. Because while there are many other ministries on the Internet, not all of them are equally helpful. However, despite the proliferation of unhelpful ministries, there are also many that are helpful. In His kindness and grace, God has given His people teachers, people who have been gifted with an ability to so helpfully and edifingly explain and apply God’s Word to our everyday lives. Making use of the teaching and insight that many of these ministries offer can be so helpful to our individual walks with the Lord. Which is why DTFR seeks to do what it does in both providing and pointing you to sound Biblical resources.
Now, not included in the mission statement/description, but included in the About section on the website, is the comment on the occasional appearance of articles concerning topics such as the church, culture, and theology. While this will not be the primary source of content, it will be an additional feature as my personal time allows. But even these occasional articles on various topics will continue to be guided and governed by the principles of God’s Word. Thus, they fit under the overall mission.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, I simply want to welcome you to the DTFR Substack. I truly am grateful and excited for this Substack, and am praying that the Lord will use this platform in ways greater than anything I could ask, think, or imagine, to the praise of His glorious grace. (Ephesians 4:20-21). And so, dear reader, thank you for making it to the end. And, of course, as has already been said, but yet deserves re-stating:
Welcome to Daily Thoughts For Reflection! 🥳🥳🥳