Tag: Jesus

Bible

What Are You Afraid Of?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 28, 2008

Jesus is sleeping in a boat; the disciples are crossing the lake. A major strong whips up and the disciples are overwhelmed—remember that several of them were fishermen, so it must have been a bad one to scare them.

In a panic, they wake up Jesus.

He says, “You have little faith; why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:23-27).

Upon contemplation, this question of Jesus is eye opening.

Jesus implies that fear is a symptom of faithlessness. Conversely, if we have faith, there should be no reason to fear.

When we have fears—and we all do—we need to, in faith, give them to Jesus and trust him to take care of us.

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 faith, Jesus

Bible

When You Give, Pray, and Fast

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 26, 2008

In the book of Matthew, chapter 6, there is a word that is interestingly repeated by Jesus. It is the word when:

“When you give to the needy…” (Matthew 6:2).
“When you pray…” (Matthew 6:5 and 7).
“When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16).

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say if you give, if you pray, or if you fast.

It seems that Jesus is telling us that giving, praying, and fasting aren’t options, but expectations.

Tags fasting, Jesus, prayer

Bible

The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 25, 2008

The phrase “the Kingdom of God” is synonymous with “the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Some writers in the Bible simply prefer one over the other; it is not meant to designate two different concepts or kingdoms. (Mark and Luke used “Kingdom of God,” whereas Matthew used “Kingdom of heaven.”)

These phrases can perhaps be best understood by considering that Jesus desires to brings heaven’s rule to earth. Under his rule, there are benefits and responsibilities to his subjects—the church.

Jesus explains about the Kingdom of God/Heaven through parables:

The parable of the Weeds [Matthew 13:24-30]
The parable of Scattering Seed [Mark 4:26-27]
The parable of the Mustard Seed [Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32, Luke 13:18-19]
The parable of Yeast [Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20-21]
The parable of the Hidden Treasure [Matthew 13:44]
The parable of the Pearl [Matthew 13:45]
The parable of the Net [Matthew 13:47-48]
The parable of Settling Accounts [Matthew 18:23-35]
The parable of the Workers in the Vineyard [Matthew 20:1-16]
The parable of the Wedding Banquet [Matthew 22:2-14]
The parable of the Ten Virgins [Matthew 25:1-13]

How do these parables change your view of God and our relationship to him?

Tags church, heaven, Jesus, Luke, parable

Bible

Quoting from the Bible

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 22, 2008

When you pray, be careful what you pray—I’m serious, be very careful.

In the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples (also called “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father”), one part says:

“Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.”

Some translations use the word “sins” or “transgressions” in place of debts, but the intent is the same.

The request is that God will forgive us…to the degree we forgive others.

That is, if we forgive fully, we are asking God to forgive us fully. However, if we only forgive partially—keeping grudges, holding on to ill-feelings, or harboring hate—then we are asking God to only forgive us partially.

Our lack of forgiveness towards others could limit the amount of forgiveness we receive. Ouch!

So when I pray that prayer, I do so carefully and with some trepidation; some days, I even want to skip that part!

However, skipping it is not the answer. A better solution is to be steadfast and diligent in forgiving others—then we can likewise expect the same from God.

Tags Father, Jesus

Bible

An Example of Obedience in the Life of Joseph

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 21, 2008

Four times, Joseph received instructions from God:

An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him to go ahead and marry Mary (Matthew 1:20).

Later, an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, warning him of the threat on Jesus’ life and instructing him to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14).

A third time, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him it was safe to return from Egypt (Matthew 2:19-20).

Lastly, Joseph received additional instruction in a dream to go to Galilee and not Judea (Matthew 2:22).

Each of the times God spoke to Joseph, he obeyed without question or delay:

He married Mary, as instructed,
he got up and left for Egypt in the middle of the night,
he later returned to Israel, and
he settled in Galilee.

God can speak to us in various ways: by a dream, vision, or even angels, through the Bible or others, or the Holy Spirit. However we may hear from God, there is but one acceptable response: to obey without question or delay, just as Joseph did.

Tags angel, Egypt, Holy Spirit, Jesus

Bible

Are You an Alien—Or Do You Belong Here?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 8, 2008

The Bible sometimes calls the followers of Jesus, aliens. This seems like a strange and insulting label. An alien is someone who doesn’t belong, an outsider. In common usage, an alien is from another country, but jumping to the world of sci-fi, an alien is from another world or alternate existence.

Is this starting to come into focus? If we follow Jesus, we don’t belong here; we are just passing through to the home that awaits us in heaven.

We are indeed aliens—but do we act like it? Acting like aliens means we have a different focus, different goals, and different priorities. It means we are different and people should see that difference.

Are you an alien—or do you belong here?

[See Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 11:13, and 1 Peter 2:11. Instead of aliens, some translations use words like exiles, migrants, strangers, and temporary residents. The Message uses the phrase, “this world is not your home.”]

Tags heaven, Jesus

Bible

Jesus was Jewish

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 4, 2008

Jesus was a Jew.

That statement catches many Christians (that is, followers of Jesus) off guard. It is easy to label Jesus, since he is the impetus for Christianity, as a Christian, even though his time spent on earth was as a Jew.

Indeed, he was born a Jew, into a Jewish culture, and had a clear Jewish lineage. He was raised and educated in Jewish beliefs and traditions.

His ministry was primarily to Jewish people (though he certainly ministered to non-Jews and made it clear that his message was for all people, his focus was the Jews). Plus, most of his disciples were Jews, as presumably were most of his followers.

In fact, initially Christianity was viewed as a sect of Judaism. [Acts 28:22]

Yes, Jesus was Jewish.

As such, there is much that his followers owe to and can learn from Jewish traditions and beliefs. This is one important reason to study the Old Testament and to embrace our common ground with our Jewish brothers and sisters.

Tags Jesus, Jew, tradition

Bible

The Curtain in the Temple was Torn in Two

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 31, 2008

The “Holy of Holies” (also called “the Most Holy Place” or “the Holiest of all”) was the innermost part of the tabernacle and later, the temple. It was so sacred that only the high priest could enter it and then only once a year.

When Jesus died, the veil (which was very thick, more akin to a wall) in the temple around the Holy of Holies was torn in two, from top to bottom. This is significant for two reasons:

First, being torn from the top down signifies that it was God’s doing. Since it was 30 feet high, a person would only be able to tear it from the bottom up. In effect, God was saying, I’m changing the old way of doing things.

More importantly, this opened up the Holy of Holies, showing that everyone could now approach God, at any time—not just the high priest once a year.

Jesus changed things indeed, making it possible for all us to directly approach God.

Tags Holy of Holies, Jesus

Bible

Does God Give Love or Justice?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 18, 2008

Most people correctly understand that God is love. They then reason that out of love, he will unquestionably accept them as they are, welcoming them into heaven when they die. This is an oversimplification of his love.

God is also just. His just nature requires that there be a punishment for the wrong things that we do.

If, out of love, God didn’t require punishment for wrongdoing, that would make him unjust. Lacking justice and being unfair is unloving. Therefore, he must punish wrong living. That punishment was taken on by Jesus (if we accept it); otherwise we must face the punishment ourselves.

So God’s just nature requires punishment, but his loving nature covers that punishment through Jesus.

Tags heaven, Jesus, justice, love

Bible

A Question With Life and Death Ramifications

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 10, 2008

Peter cried when he realized that he had denied even knowing Jesus (Mark 14:72).

What makes this even more ironic is that earlier that same day he pledged his support to Jesus, claiming to be willing to die with him (Mark 14:31).

For most people, admitting that we “know” Jesus is a relatively easy thing to do, yet Peter was confronted with a seemingly life and death situation: say “yes” and he too could be crucified with Jesus; say “no” and he could avoid further scrutiny, thereby saving his skin.

In the life-in-the-balance pressure of the moment, Peter caved in and said “no.”

In some parts of the world, admitting that you followed Jesus could easily result in death or at least suffering. How well would we fare in such a test? Would we cave in or be bold regardless of the consequences?

However, beyond the literal, natural meaning of this story there is a more profound supernatural perspective. In the spiritual sense, we can say “yes” we know Jesus and live — forever; saying “no” is what leads to death.

Tags Jesus, Peter