Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
The Lord’s Prayer contains a curious phrase that gives me pause. Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable every time I say it. The passage in question is “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We mean the first part, but do we really mean the second part? When we ask this of God, are […]
When Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray, he gave them a short little example. It’s commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer” (though some suggest “The Disciples’ Prayer” would be a more appropriate label.) Others refer to it as “Our Father” after its opening phrase. The Lord’s Prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13. In the NIV, […]
In my prior post, “Listen to Understand,” I noted that listening to Jesus results in more understanding; not listening produces confusion. This parallels Jesus’ teaching about the “talents” and the “minas” (both words refer to denominations of money). These parables, though differing in details (likely because they were given to different audiences at different times) […]
Doctor Luke writes that Jesus tells the people to listen carefully to what he says. When they do, they will understand—and then even greater understanding will follow. But there’s a warning, too. Those who don’t really listen will lose whatever understanding they currently have. Listening to Jesus results in more understanding; not listening results in […]
One time Jesus skipped the ceremonial hand washing before he ate. The Pharisees took notice of his omission and were about to criticize him when he took preemptive action, giving them teaching about six woes: When considering these six woes, ceremonial hand washing isn’t a big deal. [Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s […]
Jesus said, “It is not healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus came for the sick. (Since he came to heal and to save, we may be able to comprehend this both literally and figuratively, that is, the physically sick and the spiritually […]
Tuesday’s post was about Jesus’ invitation to side with his life-party. This is not a raise-your-hand, say-a-prayer, or sign-a-card decision made without careful consideration, but a total, lifelong commitment regardless of the consequences. To grasp the enormity of this, contemplate the verses where these phrases appears in the Amplified version of the Bible: …became His […]
Regardless of what country you live in, there will be at least one political party, and usually many to choose from. People who read and follow the Bible often affiliate with a particular party in order to best align their politics with the Bible. What’s interesting is they can read the same book and reach […]
The Bible writes that Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and the result of this spiritual/physical union was Jesus—it was a virgin birth. This supernatural impregnation was the spiritual superseding the physical. And if God can do that, he can certainly heal our bodies and restore us to health. He has the power to […]
Although the terminology and even the timing vary between the various Christian traditions and perspectives, a generality is that first, someone decides to follow Jesus and then the Holy Spirit is given to guide and direct them. While each stream of Christian thought assigns different terms to these events and has a diversity of understanding […]