Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Discerning the will of God isn’t hard; the Bible is clear what we are to do As Paul wraps up his first letter to the Thessalonian church, he slips in three quick instructions. These concise commands seem like soundbites. And once he delivers them, he concludes that doing these things is the will of God […]
How We Start Doesn’t Matter, Because What Counts Is How We Finish Paul writes to the Philippian church to encourage them. He shares his personal ambition in hopes they’ll do what he does. He says he pushes himself to reach a goal and to win a prize, an eternal reward. In another place Paul talks […]
Being both honest and kind is how we grow in our faith and mature through Jesus When Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he tells them to speak what is true with love. This should be our guide in all that we say. While this makes sense, it’s harder to put into practice. Truth […]
Paul tells us that faith and love is what matters most In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he opens chapter five with a discussion about freedom and slavery, about following the law and not following the law. He says that in Jesus these things have no value. So what counts the most? His explanation of […]
Jesus Elevates the Standing of Women and Treats Them as Equal to Men As the book of Matthew winds down, we see in chapter 28 that Jesus rises from the dead, appears to his followers, and ascends into heaven. As he arises, he leaves us with the Great Commission: to go throughout the world and […]
Living a life for Jesus is living contrary to our culture Jesus often warns his followers to not be hypocrites. As an example of who not to emulate, he usually singles out the religious leaders. This is a sobering thought for anyone on a church staff or who has a following of spiritual seekers. Don’t […]
Jesus calls us to change and become like little children Matthew tells the story about Jesus asking his disciples, “Who’s the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” The disciples don’t answer. Either they don’t know or they’re afraid to attempt an answer, for fear they might be wrong. Jesus takes a child and places this […]
Like yeast in a lump of dough, a little bit makes a big difference In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Matthew, we read many parables of Jesus. This includes the parable of the sower, the parable of the weeds, the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl, the parable of […]
We should show our gratitude to Jesus for all he has done for us The Bible records many things Jesus did when he was here on earth. A reoccurring action is Jesus healing people from their physical and spiritual maladies. Matthew 8 records several of these instances, and we will focus on one of them: […]
False Teachers Slander What They Don’t Understand, and They Will Be Destroyed Over the years I’ve heard many ministers talk about things they didn’t understand. Not biblical or spiritual things, but worldly things. Out of ignorance they condemn certain people for their actions, slandering them in the process. This is why the world doesn’t understand […]