Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Prepare the Way, Part 1 Malachi 2:17–3:5 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” (Malachi 3:1) The opening of Mark’s gospel quotes two Old Testament prophecies about John the Baptist. The first is from Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament. But Malachi isn’t speaking his own words. He […]
The Depth of Love is Revealed by How Much We are Willing to Give Up It is easy to say we love others. It is harder to show it, to prove our words through action. Despite what I may profess, I fear I may be more selfish than I care to admit. I may not […]
What Does Giving Thanks Mean to You? Today, in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! But wherever you live, take time to give thanks for all we have. In the US, however, Thanksgiving Day has morphed into a day of eating too much, watching football on television, and starting Christmas shopping in earnest. […]
Prepare Your Heart for the Savior This Christmas Most Christians and their churches celebrate Christmas to commemorate Jesus coming to earth as a baby. And many build up to Christmas by observing Advent—the time that precedes our Savior’s birth. This book, The Advent of Jesus, is designed to guide us in this important season as […]
Understand How to Respond to This Perplexing Practice A perplexing verse in Paul’s letter to his friends in Corinth mentions being baptized for dead people. What in the world does this mean? It sounds heretical. Can we be baptized for dead people? Well, I suppose so, but we shouldn’t expect it to accomplish anything. Should […]
A Physical World and a Spiritual Reality We live in a physical world. We can interact with it though our senses. It is tangible. It is real. Contrast this to the spiritual realm. We exist in both physical and spiritual realms. While this is true, there is more—much more. There is a spiritual reality that […]
Cornelius is a commander in the Roman army; he’s also a man of faith, who prays often and gives to the poor. One day, during his afternoon prayers, he has a vision. An angel appears to him and says that God has received his prayers and gifts as a memorial offering. Imagine that. God sees […]
Take a Look at Prayer from the Almighty’s Perspective In the post, The Implications of Omnipotence, I noted that there is nothing that an all-powerful God can’t do, yet, not every prayer is answered—at least not the way we think it should be. Let’s consider how God answers prayer. Before we criticize God, however, consider: […]
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 […]
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 […]