Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
We Must Adore the Almighty Regardless of Our Circumstances It’s easy to love God when things go well. When our lives are great and we receive his blessings, we can thank him, praise him, and appreciate his goodness. It’s easy to love him when life is good. However, life isn’t always so good. Sometimes our […]
Word Picture: Vine Another word picture to help us better understand God is that he is the vine and we are the branches. We can view God as a vine, as our vine. In this, God is revealed as the source of nourishment, the giver of life, and the means of support, sustenance, and existence. […]
Discover Ten Reasons Why People Speak Well of Job Job had everything and he lost it all. He can’t figure out what happened or why God seems so distant. Though enduring hard times, he asserts he has done nothing wrong. To reinforce this claim of right behavior, he says that everyone who heard of him […]
Embrace a Different Way to Worship God The term “sacrifice of praise” is only found in one verse in the Bible. It’s a curious phrase. What does it mean? Whatever it may refer to, the first thing we see is we are to do it continually. We are to offer a constant sacrifice of praise […]
I once mused that the Song of Songs might be best understood as a screenplay of sorts. Reading and meditating on it as such gave me new insights and a deeper appreciation of this often-overlooked book. It seems that the book of Job is similar in this regard. As mostly dialogue, the book of Job […]
James Offers a Solution to Those Who Face Disappointment with Their Life I like the words of James in the Bible. His concise writing packs a lot of practical teaching into five succinct chapters. In chapter four he opens with a string of negative outcomes that often plague people. He lists fights, quarrels, envy, covetousness, […]
Here is a trio of thoughts from the book of Job: What Job Feared Most Happened to Him The enemy (that is Satan, the devil) knew Job’s fears and exploited them. Although everyone fears something, we are best advised to turn our fears over to God and not dwell on them. Job Believed that Through […]
Some People Don’t Have Biological Offspring, but Everyone Can Have Spiritual Descendants Paul wraps up his letter to the church in Rome with a long list of people Most of these names stream past our eyes as unfamiliar. We’re tempted to skim. But slow down. Consider Rufus (Romans 16:13). That name only appears in one […]
A common lament of Job throughout the story bearing his name is his begging God to answer his pleas. However, it seems that Job (and his friends) are too busy talking to give God a chance. When God does respond, Job’s friends are rebuffed, and Job’s righteousness is affirmed. Now we can read Job’s conclusion […]
A Refreshing Perspective At the conclusion of the book of Job, God blesses him even more than before. One of the blessings mentioned is that Job has ten children. Seven are sons and three are daughters. Let’s look into Job’s daughters. What is interesting is that in an age when sons are revered and daughters […]