Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
You likely know the story of Jonah: He proclaims, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Talk about a lousy sermon. Eight concise and direct words. He doesn’t use persuasive language, doesn’t implore the people to act, and doesn’t show any compassion or concern. He is blunt and to the point. Technically, he does […]
Consider These Passages about God’s Provisions for Us Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared verses with my friends through my email newsletter. These passages can encourage us during challenging times. And readers have responded by sending me their verses that they find especially helpful in the world today. Here’s the list of these verses. […]
In the story of Jonah, we see God’s sovereignty at work, with God exercising control over nature. Here’s what God does: Furthermore, God’s sovereignty allows him to show mercy towards the people of Nineveh and not destroy them as he had originally planned. However, God does not exercise control over Jonah, allowing him to do […]
As Followers of Jesus We Must Focus Our Attention Paul encourages the church in Philippi to focus their thoughts (Philippians 4:8). We should do this too. But what should we think about? Fortunately, Paul gives us a list. We are to pursue these ideas. Think about Whatever is True First, we should dwell on the […]
While the story of Cain killing his brother may be commonly known, the rebellion of Korah is quite obscure. Korah was from the tribe of Levi; he and the other Levites were assigned God-given tasks to serve in the temple; they were set apart for this. However, they were not to serve as priests; that […]
The Holy Spirit Gives Us a Sound Mind to Counter Fear Through the Holy Spirit we have a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Sound mind means self-discipline, self-control, sound judgment, and wise discretion. We can claim all these as the Holy Spirit’s provision to us. In doing so we can direct our thoughts and not […]
The book of Joel is classified as one of the Bible’s prophetic books, as it contains a foretelling of the future. After multiple reads, however, this short, 3-chapter book begins to emerge more as poetry than prophecy, revealing multiple levels of meaning awaiting the patient reader to unveil and discover. The name of the book […]
God Provides the Antidote When We Face Fear We live in a time where there is much to fear. Whether by mandate or out of personal concern, we cower in our homes afraid of what is happening in the world around us. We sequester ourselves and exist with little community to encourage us. Aside from […]
When God Calls People to Him, Some Come and Others Run Away As the prophet Hosea wraps up his writings, he gives us some insight into the heart of God. He writes that the more God called his people, the more they ran away from him (Hosea 11:2). When God calls, what is our response? […]
In the book of Hosea, God calls the young man, Hosea, to be his prophet—telling him to marry a prostitute, (see “Hosea Shows Us God’s Unconditional Love”). This is one of God’s most scandalous directives. What is intriguing is that God does not indicate which prostitute. God gives options. The choice is left to Hosea! […]