Year: 2011

Bible

Don’t Be Afraid – It’s Just an Angel

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 25, 2011

Our perceptions of angels are likely skewed by paintings we have seen. While many of these paintings are great works of art, they cannot begin to capture just how breathtaking and astounding angels must be.

Consider Daniel’s angelic encounter: “His body was like [a precious gem], his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.” I’ve never seen a picture like that!

Now consider Daniel’s reaction to his angelic encounter:

no strength, grew deathly pale, very weak (v8)
trembling (v10-11)
speechless (v15)
overcome with anguish; helpless (v16)
strength is gone; can hardly breathe (v17)

Plus, this was likely a “junior” angel, as he required help from a more powerful angel just to reach Daniel. How much more intense would it have been if the “senior” angel showed himself.

It is no surprise then, that one of the first things angels say when they reveal themselves is “don’t be afraid.”

However, if an encounter with an angel produces this sort of intense, overwhelming, heart-stopping reaction, imagine what an encounter with the God who created them would be like.

(See Daniel 10:4-17.)

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Tags angel, Daniel

Bible

Are You High?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 22, 2011

Do you ever wonder what God thinks of you? Unfortunately, I suspect that most people who consider such a question reach the wrong conclusion.

But what if an angel were to show up and provide a supernatural perspective about you?

It’s happened:

An angel tells Daniel that he is “highly esteemed.” This doesn’t just happen once but is said three times on two different occasions. As a result of being highly esteemed, great insight into the future is revealed to Daniel.

A few centuries later, an angel tells a young girl that she is “highly favored”; her name is Mary. As a result of being highly favored, Jesus is born and the world is forever changed.

Although we can’t earn our salvation, we apparently can be esteemed and favored by God for our actions and dedication; implicitly, the opposite must also be true.

While we may never have an angel visit us to say what God thinks of us, the Bible does reveal this truth. But to find out, you can’t read it as a legal document or an instruction manual; embrace the Bible as a narrative, God’s narrative to you.

[See Daniel 9:23 and 10:11&19, and Luke 1:28.]

Tags angel, Daniel, Jesus

Bible

The Best of the Best

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 18, 2011

The God who is revealed in the Bible is number one. Consider these explanations of who he is in comparison to all else:

He is the King of kings.
He is the Lord of lords.
He is the Prince of princes.
He is the God of gods.

Quite simply, God is over all and above all. He is numero uno. He is the Best of the best.

So what should be our response?

Tags God

Bible

A Curious Thing

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 15, 2011

The ninth chapter of Daniel records a curious prayer of Daniel.

One thing that is strange is Daniel confesses things he never did. He personally accepts the errors of former generations, identifying with the wayward actions of his country.

It is as if Daniel, though innocent in this regard, takes on himself the faults and failures of an entire nation, personally confessing them and seeking God’s deliverance on their behalf.

If that sounds a bit familiar, Jesus did the same thing, but on a much grander scale and with universal and everlasting impact.

Daniel’s humble prayer foreshadows Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

[See Daniel 9:1-19 and check out 2 Corinthians 5:21.]

Tags Daniel, Jesus

Bible

Free Will and Predestination

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 11, 2011

A theological conundrum is the concept of free will versus predestination. While the Bible teaches that we have the ability to make our own choices (we have free will), it also says that things are predetermined (predestined). Which is it?

It is both, presenting us with a delightful paradox. Though my mind somewhat grasps this as a holistic, unified truth, I am woefully unable to articulate it.

It helps a little to consider that one understanding of “predestined” is to “foreknow.” Another helpful consideration is to realize that God—who created time-space, exists outside of time—likely seeing the past, present, and future as a singular reality.

However, it is the book of Daniel that gives me the most help.

A prophecy is given about evil king Nebuchadnezzar. Because of his prideful arrogance, he will be struck with insanity until he acknowledges God (free will) and for seven years (predestination).

Free will and predestination are not mutually exclusive concepts, but opposite sides of the same coin.

[See Daniel 4:25.]

Tags Daniel, free will, paradox, predestination, timespace

Bible

Where’s Daniel?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 9, 2011

You may know about Daniel, the guy noted for spending the night with a bunch of hungry lions and emerging the next morning unscathed.

The bigger story is that as a youth he was captured by an invading army, forcibly relocated to Babylon, stripped of his culture, indoctrinated with new philosophies, and forced to work for the king.

Through all this, he put God first and acquitted himself well, serving four kings from two kingdoms.

There’s a curious verse about Daniel: “Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

If he’s not there, where is he?

A clue is that also occur during the first year of Cyrus’s reign, some of the exiles are permitted to return to their homeland. Daniel would have been in his eighties at the time, but he could have made the journey. In fact, both Ezra and Nehemiah list a “Daniel” making the return trip.

Perhaps after years of faithful service to both God and king, Daniel is finally able to go home.

[See Daniel 1:21, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-2, Ezra 8:2, and Nehemiah 10:6.]

Tags Daniel, faithful

Bible

You Don’t Have to be a Pain

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 6, 2011

The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible.

A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain.

The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a name to let everyone know that. What a terrible legacy to give a boy, a name that serves as a constant reminder — to him and everyone else — that he caused pain and is likely destined to continue to cause pain.

Jabez could have opted to live up to those expectations, allowing his name to be a self-fulfilling prophecy or he could attempt to overcome it. He chose the latter, asking God to keep him from causing pain.

And God answered that prayer!

Regardless of our past or the hand that life has dealt us, we don’t need to let that define us. We can overcome it and become something else, something better.

God helped Jabez do just that and he can help us to; we only need to ask.

[See 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.]

Tags Prayer of Jabez

Bible

Bible Reading Plans for 2011

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 1, 2011

The 2011 New Testament Reading Plan is now available.

Read the New Testament in a year (only 3 to 4 minutes a day, Monday – Friday only)

Other Reading Plans to Consider:

Read the Old Testament in a year (about 10 to 12 minutes a day)
Read the Entire Bible in a year (about 12 to 15 minutes a day)
Monthly reading plans (only 3 to 4 minutes a day)

The least effective way to read the Bible is to start on page 1 and read straight through to the end. The different sections, or “books,” of the Bible are grouped by category more so than in chronological order, so a sequential reading is somewhat disconcerting.

If this is your first time reading the Bible, we recommend starting with the New Testament. If that seems a bit overwhelming, check out the monthly reading plans. (Save the Old Testament and entire Bible plans for later.)

Tags Bible reading plan