Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Discover What the Bible Says about Salvation Paul, in writing to the church in Ephesus, shares a succinct and essential truth about salvation. He tells them how to be saved, which reminds them how they were saved. He writes “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, […]
Don’t Be Merely Human Paul reprimands the church in Corinth for many things. One time he points out that they envy one another and argue a lot. There is jealousy and quarreling in their church. It happened then and it’s still happening now. We want what others have. Although this often relates to money, possessions, […]
Discover What We Can Learn from the Final Words of Jesus We’ve talked about the Bible’s first recorded words of Jesus and his last words before he ascends into heaven. But what people focus on most is what he says as he hangs on the cross, dying in our place for the wrongs we have […]
Jeremiah Compares the People’s Relationship with God to a Cheating Spouse The prophet Jeremiah, along with many other writers in the Bible, accuse God’s people of spiritual adultery. They are unfaithful to their Lord. They cheat on him. They run around with other, lesser gods. Marital Adultery Cheating on a spouse is a situation most […]
Consider What Jesus Says Just Before He Ascends into Heaven Jesus’s first recorded words in the Bible are when he’s twelve years old and disappears. His parents eventually find him in the temple. His perplexing answer explains he belongs in his Father’s house (Luke 2:49). With these as his first words, now let’s look at […]
Don’t Place Ministers on a Pedestal It’s sad when it happens, but we don’t need to wait long before another prominent Christian leader falls from his pedestal. Yes, it is usually men. While their moral failings are the reason, we, too, are to blame. With ungodly fervor, we elevate our cherished leaders, hoisting them to […]
Consider How We Honor and Worship God The first five books of the Bible talk a lot about God’s expectations of his people, about what God desires. He gives Moses his laws to guide them in right behavior, both what they’re supposed to do and what they’re to avoid. The Bible also discusses—sometimes in excruciating […]
Jesus Comes for Everyone: All Nations, All People The phrases God’s people, the chosen ones, the chosen, and other similar references appear in multiple places throughout the Old Testament. This designation certainly makes the Jewish people feel special. After all, God chose them to be his people. This must mean he likes them better than […]
Do Not Seek Your Own Good, But What’s Best for Others We live in a narcissistic, self-centered world. We put ourselves first and care only about what’s in our best interest. Too many people live their life with the attitude that “it’s all about me.” In doing so, they miss so much. Instead, we should […]
We Should Embrace Our Homecoming to Eternity After writing his psalms of praise to God, Isaiah continues the positivity by looking forward to the day when his people will receive deliverance from their enemies, about them going home. Though the people view this as a physical rescue, many people today understand it as a spiritual […]