Some refer to the book of John as the gospel of love because he mentions the word love thirty-nine times, more than Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined and more than any other book in the New Testament. In all the Bible, only the lengthy 150-chapter book of Psalms uses love more often. In John’s much […]
We Distort Scripture If We Try to Adapt It to Fit Society’s Views I write about the need to be careful when reading Scripture to not interpret it through the lens of our experiences, perspectives, and practices. When we do so it clouds our understanding. We must likewise be careful not to read the Bible […]
A Devotional Celebrating the Work, Words, and Witness of Christ Peter DeHaan’s latest book, The Ministry of Jesus: A Devotional Celebrating the Work, Words, and Witness of Christ released October 18, 2023. It is the fourth book in the popular “Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.” In The Ministry of Jesus, readers will delve into the […]
An Intriguing Possibility The neighbor who goes to The Kind-of-Traditional Church also mentioned this one. “All the rest of the neighbors go there,” she said. “It’s more contemporary.” That’s where we’re headed today, all the while questioning how many of our future neighbors actually go there. Easy Access The facility is larger than I expect […]
Martin Luther Studied the Bible to See If It Supported Church Practices As Martin studied the Latin translation of the Bible, he grew worried about the lack of biblical support for the Church’s misuse of indulgences, of essentially allowing people to buy their salvation. Instead, he found the Bible overflowing with grace. This disconnect alarmed […]
Jesus shared a story (parable) about forgiving others. Jesus’ illustration was prompted by Peter, who asked if forgiving someone seven times was enough; Peter thought seven times was generous. Jesus upped the figure considerably, saying seventy-seven times. We don’t take this amount literally, instead understanding that Jesus really meant we need to forgive others “more […]
The apostle John (not to be confused with John the Baptist) is one of Jesus’s twelve disciples and part of Jesus’s inner circle, along with his older brother James and his friend Peter. But there’s more. In his biography of Jesus, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved. Imagine that. Consider that Jesus […]
4 Ideals We Should Pursue to Stay True to Jesus As followers of Jesus, we must take care to not let the influences of our world negate our understanding of our Savior and what he stands for. This must be an ongoing effort, because worldly ideas bombard us all day long and not God-honoring principles. […]
A Failure to Connect It’s time to leave for church, but our son isn’t feeling well, and his wife will stay home with him. So, Candy, my wife, and I make another last-minute change. It’s 9:50 a.m., with not enough time to make it to any of the area’s many 10 a.m. services. I scan […]
Psalm 164 from Beyond Psalm 150 After a fatal first attempt to move the ark of God (1 Chronicles 13:3–14), David successfully brings the ark of God into Jerusalem and places it inside the tent he has prepared for it. David then gives offerings to God and appoints Levites—including Asaph— to lead worship. The Bible credits Asaph […]