Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
Once when teaching his disciples, Jesus addresses forgiveness. He says when someone treats us wrongly we are to first confront (“rebuke”) them about the issue. If they apologize or acknowledge their error (“repent”), then we are to forgive them. Although Jesus literally says we are to do this seven times, there is actually no limit to forgiveness. […]
In the post “Hear God” we looked at Jesus’ instruction to “hear the word of God and obey it.” “Hear the word of God” is usually understood to mean “read the Bible,” but it might be more correct to comprehend it as meaning “listen to the Holy Spirit.” Regardless, the concluding part, to “obey,” is […]
Once when Jesus was wrapping up a teaching, he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” What exactly does he mean? Hear God from the Bible In our culture, we often consider “the word of God” to mean the Bible. So the common understanding is we need to […]
The phrase “the finger of God” occurs four times in the Bible. The first is when the Egyptian magicians cannot duplicate the feats God is doing through Moses and they say, “This is the finger of God.” The second and third times are when God gives Moses the Ten Commandments inscribed on stone tablets. What […]
In continuing with the story of Jesus driving the demon out of the mute man there’s an interesting phrase. It is “Jesus knew their thoughts.” (In another account about Jesus, the Bible says, “Jesus knew what they were thinking.”) This suggests a divine power as being a part of Jesus’ human existence. Perhaps this is […]
After Jesus is criticized for driving out demons, he addresses his detractors. In doing so he makes a curious statement. He asks, by whose power do you drive out demons? Implicitly, Jesus was not the only one with the power and ability to drive out demons. In considering this, a bunch of questions come to […]
Once Jesus drove a demon out of a man. The man had been mute, but when the evil spirit was exorcized, he began speaking. The people should have been in awe of the power Jesus displayed. They were not. Instead they chose to be critical. Some questioned the source of his power and others insisted […]
For much of my life when I would stumble upon a confusing section in the Bible, I would rush through it to reach something else that made more sense. Lately, I’ve been doing the opposite. When I reach a confusing passage, I linger, seeking to dig deeper, contemplate more fully, and discover hidden truths. Such […]
Jesus told us to ask in order to receive, to seek in order to find and to knock in order for the door to be opened. ask -> receiveseek -> findknock -> open God responds. This seems straightforward: ask, seek, and knock. But what is the door that will be opened? Is it a door […]
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 […]