Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
My prior post, “In the Beginning…”, may lead some to quip, “Well, where did God come from?” If there is the assumption that God’s existence is like that of our own, then a creation view has the same limitation as an evolution view: something had to come from nothing. However, in considering the creation account […]
The entry “Omni God” mentioned that, among other things, God is “omnipresent.” This means that God is present everywhere or that he exists in all places, at all times. This is a grand and awesome concept, to realize that God simultaneously exists everywhere. It is huge, immense, and at times a bit overwhelming. Sometimes this reality […]
The word love is overused and misused. Consider the following: Love, then, can mean anything from complete devotion to a slight preference—and everywhere in between. As such, when love is used, it takes on a vague connotation, expressing a feeling that is open to wide interpretations. Another overused and misused word is awesome. Its usage […]
They Carried Weapons In the Bible, Dr. Luke records the scene: Jesus is eating his final meal with his followers. He is sharing some parting words when he makes a perplexing remark about buying swords. His disciples matter-of-factly reply that they have two swords. Did you catch that? Jesus’ disciples carry swords. I don’t know about […]
The Bible contains four separate accounts of the life of Jesus. They are biographies of Jesus, which we call Gospels. The question is often asked, “Which one should I read first?” That is a hard to answer, as each one has its own strengths. Matthew The Gospel written by Matthew does much to connect Jewish […]
In this Christmas season our thoughts turn more intentionally and more frequently to Jesus, the reason for this annual celebration. In consideration of the first Christmas, my thoughts are warm and cozy, happy and joyous, and idyllic and serene, with angels singing, kings bearing gifts, and happily contented shepherds shepherding. This is all true, but […]
One final reflection on the prayer of Jabez. In the scant bio for Jabez, it describes him as a good man, saying he “was more righteous than his brothers.” Righteous is a word that we don’t use too often nowadays, but means to be morally upright. Jabez then was a good, morally upright person. Now, […]
After Jabez’s short and concise prayer comes encouraging words of confirmation and affirmation.The Bible simply notes that “God granted him what he requested.” How exciting! Although I don’t know the mind of God, I suspect that had Jabez made his requests for selfish reasons, the results may have been different. Indeed this is something to […]
The fifth and final line in Jabez’s prayer is “that I may not cause pain.” At first glance this is an unclear and somewhat wordy request. However, it can be reworded for clarity. To not cause pain, is simply to do good. Here Jabez is reminding himself—as much as he is telling God—that the purpose of […]
The fourth line in Jabez’s prayer is: “that you would keep me from evil” If this request sounds vaguely familiar, there is good reason. In the best known prayer in the Bible, often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” there is the line “deliver us from the evil one.” Just as Jesus taught his followers to pray, […]