Discover Why Paul Says This In his letter to the Philippians, Paul tells readers to follow his example and to the Corinthians he writes, “imitate me” (Philippians 3:17 and 1 Corinthians 4:16). This strikes me as bold and audacious, arrogant and presumptuous. This seemingly brash statement, however, is illuminated when he later instructs readers to […]
Are Grace and Mercy the Same Thing? Are grace and mercy the same thing? That might seem so, since they are both good things that God gives us. However, in some respects they are opposites. Consider these simple definitions: Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. For […]
Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective By Henri Nouwen (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) Much of Lifesigns was written while author Henri Nouwen was staying at l’Arche, a loving and compassion-filled home for the handicapped. It is, therefore, not surprising that he connects that environment to this discourse. Nouwen asserts that we show signs of […]
How Does Salvation “Work”? In one Paul’s letters, he says something that is quite curious and strange. He tells readers to “work out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12). Ugh? Didn’t Paul also write that we are saved through faith and not by our “works” (that is, not of our own doing or striving)? (Ephesians 2:8-9). So, […]
In the Bible, there is the instruction to “put on the full armor of God.” To the casual reader, this might seem like a call to arms or a provocation for military action. Yet I don’t see this as a militant statement, but merely a memory aid to help people remember key items needed to […]
Reviewed by Peter DeHaan End of the Spear is the compelling true story of dedicated missionaries needlessly speared to death by the violent tribe they are seeking to help. This tragically occurs because one of the tribesmen lies about them in order to protect himself from deadly reprisals within his own clan. T he result […]
Last week I received a strange notice from my US mail carrier. It seems that the location of my mailbox is unacceptable. What’s perplexing is it’s been like that for twenty years, so I’m not sure why it’s suddenly now out of specification. There are two complaints with my once acceptable mailbox: it needs to […]
Karma is a concept found in many eastern religions that essentially says, “What goes around, comes around.” It is a sort of universal law of cause and effect. There is a seemingly karma-like verse in the Bible, which appears to paraphrase this idea. It says, “You reap what you sow.” However, in looking at the […]
I did a word study on the usage of yeast in the Bible. Here is what I found: Yeast is used symbolically to represent influence, usually negatively. Just as a little bit of yeast, permeates dough and produces a noticeable result, so to does influence, be it good or bad. [Check out where these references […]
Do You Live by the Law or by Faith? In what initially seems to be shocking statement, Jesus says that if we want to have eternal life, we must follow the commandments in the Old Testament. [Matthew 19:17] Of course, this is impossible, because if we break even one law, one time, we are found […]