Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

Discover the Comeback of John Mark

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 22, 2019

Everyone Deserves a Second Chance

A person who keeps resurfacing in the Bible is a man with two names. Sometimes he is Mark, and sometimes he is John.

For clarity, Luke often refers to him as John, also called Mark, John Mark for short. Let’s explore the failure and the comeback of John Mark.

John Mark’s story begins in Acts. When Peter is miraculously released from prison he heads to the home of John Mark’s mom, Mary. They are praying for Peter at that time. John Mark is likely a part of that prayer meeting (Acts 12:12).

Barnabas (John Mark’s cousin) and Paul take him on a missionary journey (Acts 12:25). He helps them at first (Acts 13:5). But after a while, John-Mark bales on them early on and returns home, to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

Later, Barnabas wants to give his cousin a second chance, but Paul adamantly disagrees and the two-part company over John Mark’s failure (Acts 15:37-40).

However, the story doesn’t end there. John Mark makes a comeback and wins Paul over.

In Paul’s various letters, he affirms their relationship (2 Timothy 4:11), calls John Mark a coworker (Philemon 1:24), and asks the church to accept and welcome him (Colossians 4:10).

Peter also affirms John Mark (1 Peter 5:13).

John Mark rushed into ministry before he was ready—he didn’t “count the cost” (Luke 14:28)—and did not prove to be faithful. Despite his poor start, he turned things around and finished well, helping both Paul and Peter.

He is likely the author of the gospel of Mark.

[Discover more about the Bible at ABibleADay.com: Bible FAQs, Bible Dictionary, Books of the Bible Overview, and Bible Reading Plans.]

Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Barnabas, Friends and Foes of Jesus, John-Mark, Paul, Peter

Bible Insights

How Can We Help the Poor?

Deuteronomy Instructs Us to Help Foreigners, Orphans, and Widows

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds God’s people that when they’re harvesting a field to not pick it clean, to leave some of the produce for others. This includes foreigners, orphans, and widows (Deuteronomy 24:19).

Help Foreigners Orphans and Widows

Moses’s words reiterate the same command that we read twice in the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 19:9-10 and Leviticus 23:22). It’s good for Moses to remind the people of this command.

They’ve been in the desert for forty years and not planted or harvested.

Soon that will change. He’s telling them their harvest won’t just be for them, but it’s also to help poor people, specifically to help foreigners, orphans, and widows.

Ruth Gleans Grain

Let’s fast forward a few centuries to Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth and Naomi are both widows. Ruth is also a foreigner. When they return to Israel, they’re poor. Dirt poor.

Aside from each other, they have no family. They have no means for support. They have no money. What do they do?

Ruth goes out in the fields to glean grain, to pick up what the harvesters left behind or overlooked.

This wouldn’t have been possible had the landowners not followed Moses’s command to leave some of the harvest behind for the foreigners, orphans, and widows so they can glean.

Even though this is an act of generosity on the part of the farmers, notice that Ruth does need to work to get her free food. She must glean grain from the field, working and sweating behind the day laborers.

For Ruth and Naomi, their story ends happily. Ruth gets married again and this time she has a child. Ruth’s husband also takes care of his mother-in-law, Naomi. They no longer need to worry about their day-to-day survival.

But not all poor people are so fortunate. They must continue to glean from the fields and rely on the generosity of others.

How Can We Apply This Principle Today?

Today, few of us are farmers to leave food in the fields for people to glean. Yet that does not remove the responsibility from us to help the foreigners, orphans, and widows who are destitute and have no food. What can we do to help them?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 22-24, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 24:19.]

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Moses, Naomi, poor, Ruth

Christian Living

Do You Say Bold Prayers or Safe Prayers?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 19, 2019
1 Comment on Do You Say Bold Prayers or Safe Prayers?

God Often Wants to Delight Us, If Only We’ll Ask

Too many people say safe prayers, such as, “God, please guide . . .” These are safe because no matter what happens, our confidence in God remains unchallenged. These timid prayers accomplish little. Instead we should make bold prayers.

Pray with Bold Expectation

A few weeks ago, a friend asked for prayer about finding a new job. My prayer was bold and specific, filled with expectation.

When I finished, my friend looked at me wide-eyed. “Do you always pray like that?”

“I like to swing for the fences,” I replied.

He smiled and gave me a nod of comprehension. A few weeks later, God answered my bold, specific request for my friend. He received a job offer. Thank you, Jesus!

To “swing for the fences” is an allusion to baseball. In generic terms, this phrase means to go all out, to give it our all. I think that’s what prayer should be like, to put our faith on the line each time we pray.

To swing for the fences when we pray does exactly this.

Prayer Outcomes

Sometimes when we go all out in prayer, we see amazing answers. In our baseball metaphor, we hit a home run.

Other times our prayer doesn’t get the answer we anticipate (we fail to get on base), or God says “no” (we strike out). These outcomes stretch our faith, but they also give us the opportunity to grow.

May our prayers be bold, and regardless of the outcome, may they bring us closer to God and deepen our faith.

Don’t pray prayers where we can’t lose, where our faith remains unchallenged regardless of the outcome. Instead, may we say risky prayers that stretch our faith, that leave no room for failure.

May we say confident, bold prayers, swinging for the fence every time.

Bold Prayers Helps Our Faith Grow

Yes, we will sometime strike out when we pray. Striking out is discouraging. We’re disappointed—not in God but in ourselves. At least that’s my perspective.

Why did God not answer the way we expected? Did our heart not align with his? Perhaps.

Did we not see things the way God saw them? Maybe.

Are there things we don’t understand? Likely.

But these are all chances for our faith to grow.

But other times we get a home run (or at least a base hit) when we pray. These are times for our faith to grow too. We see God’s generous answers to our bold requests, leaving us completely amazed and in awe of him and who he is.

When we pray, regardless of the outcome, it’s a chance for our faith to grow. May we pray with bold confidence, and may our faith grow each time we do.

Don’t make wimpy requests of God. Say bold prayers instead.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Tags faith, prayer, spiritual growth

Personal Posts

Thoughts About Moving

Do You Leave Home or Take it With You?

It was 2014 when my wife and I were selling our house. It wasn’t our plan, but things change.

We had just finished updating most of it: new roof, furnace, windows, carpet, flooring, kitchen, and bathrooms. It was a three-year effort that methodically moved from one project to the next as our budget allowed.

We planned to live the rest of our lives on that house, the place where we raised our kids and the setting of many happy memories.

So, why then we moved? The answer is simple: family. Our son and his wife live about an hour away. It was hard not to be closer to them; the pull was strong.

Then our daughter and her husband, along with our grandson, moved, ending up a few miles from her brother. The draw was inescapable.

My wife and I discussed that. Then we asked what our kids thought. They liked the idea, but one instituted a ten-mile buffer, but then reduced it to five, which eventually disappeared.

Our daughter-in-law liked the idea of us living next door, where their kids could walk to grandpa and grandma.

She grew up with that and so did I. Alas, we would not be that close, but we would be within seven miles of each of our kids’ homes.

Now, as we were planning and packing, I recall the things that happened there: the happy times, the struggles we overcame, the celebrations, the milestones, and the friends who visited.

But these memories do not reside in this house, they live in our minds.

The house stayed, but our home moved along with us.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags family, Sacred-Secular Divide

Visiting Churches

The Right Mix of Music (Visiting Church #4)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 16, 2019

The church is a traditional-looking building, constructed of brick and stately in appearance. In checking out the sanctuary, I anticipate the service will be just as Facebook promised.

It said “a blending of traditional and contemporary.” Will they have the right mix of music?

The service begins with several familiar choruses. A few people lift their hands in praise, though this is limited and low-key. A team of four leads us: the worship leader on guitar, vocalist, keyboard, and the minister on bass.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

The drums sit idle. However, they don’t use the piano during the singing, but it is expertly played for the prelude, offertory, and postlude.

After a time of singing, they give several announcements. The church is a busy place and there’s much information to share. A glance at the bulletin reveals activity every day of the week.

They excuse the children and the offering follows, accompanied by an impressive piano performance. At its conclusion, applause breaks forth. I’m a bit uncomfortable with this.

I wonder if we’re worshiping God with our hands or praising an accomplished musician.

The minister is in the second week of a series on the book of first John. Using an expository style—going verse by verse—he guides us through the text, zeroing in on 1 John 2:16, which is the impetus for his sermon title, “Pollution Free.”

We need to guard against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—thereby controlling the pollution in our lives.

We conclude the service singing a well-known hymn.

The way they successfully integrate hymns and choruses into their worship service impresses me. They meld the old and new. Their worship music is both traditional and contemporary. They have the right mix of music.

I enjoyed the experience, and I’m glad we were there.

[Read about Church #3 and Church #5, start at the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #4.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, church services, traditional service

Bible Insights

Paul Seeks to be a Reconciler

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 15, 2019

While Philemon is the recipient of the letter that bears his name, Paul is the author.

We know a great deal about Paul, as he is mentioned over 250 times in the Bible, mostly in the book of Acts, but also in the letters that he wrote, as well as once by Peter. Only Jesus is mentioned more frequently.

From these mentions, we know Paul to be a missionary, a church leader, a church planter, a mentor, and a teacher. In the book of Philemon, we also see him emerge as an influencer to reconcile and restore broken relationships.

Reconciliation was the reason for Paul writing his letter to Philemon. Paul’s desire was to see Onesimus and Philemon’s estranged relationship made right.

Paul encouraged both of them to the right thing: for Onesimus to return to his master regardless of risk and for Philemon to welcome him back without penalty.

Paul was able to assume this role of reconciler because he had a personal relationship with both parties. This history gave him a credibility that an outsider would have lacked, allowing him to positively influence them both.

If you, like Paul, are in relationship with two estranged people, should your role be to encourage them to pursue reconciliation? If you’re not sure, talk to God about it. He may have put you in that position for this very reason.

Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Friends and Foes of Jesus, Onesimus, Paul, Philemon

Bible Insights

Moses Blames the People for His Mistake

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 14, 2019

Not Taking Responsibility for Our Actions Goes Way Back

We often shake our heads in dismay over people who refuse to admit when they have done something wrong. Instead they want to blame others. They refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes.

This is not a new development. Even Moses, who spoke to God face-to-face, had this problem.

Moses blames the people for what he did wrong.

Here’s his story.

Moses’s Failure

After Moses leads God’s people out of Egypt into the desert, they’re thirsty. They clamor for water. God tells Moses to go to a rock and speak to it. Then water will pour out of it for the people to drink.

Moses does go to the rock, and he does speak to it, but he also whacks it with his staff—something God didn’t tell him to do. God sees this as a lack of trust on Moses’s part.

Because of Moses’s failure to completely obey God, he won’t let Moses enter the promised land (Numbers 20:2-12).

This seems a bit harsh, but that’s what God determined.

Moses Blames the People

Fast forward about forty years. God’s people are ready to enter the land he promised to give them. Moses has them ready to take the territory. They’re poised to move forward, camping at its border.

Moses then recaps what’s happened over the past four decades. He reminds them about their journey and reiterates some of the laws God gave them.

Then he tells them he won’t be going with them. Instead Joshua will lead them. Joshua will realize what Moses had hoped for, what he worked hard to achieve for forty years.

Moses is bitter over this. But instead of admitting he disobeyed God, that he sinned, he shifts the blame. He blames the people for his failure. He says, “It’s because of you, that God is angry with me” (Deuteronomy 3:26).

Yup, that’s right. Moses blames the people for his mistake.

Blaming Others

Of course, playing the blame game didn’t start with Moses. It goes way back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve committed the first sin by disobeying God, their second sin was trying to shift blame.

Adam blamed Eve instead of admitting his own error, and Eve blamed the serpent instead of assuming responsibility for her role in committing the first sin.

Blaming other people for our actions is a moral shortcoming that is the result of sin. Failing to take responsibility for what we have done and pretend that someone else is at fault is another sin.

Repenting so that we may follow Jesus acknowledges our sin, our mistakes, our failures. To repent is to regret what we have done, to be sorry. But we can’t truly repent when we blame others for our mistakes.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 1-3, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 3:26.]

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags Adam and Eve, blame, Egypt, Moses, sin

Christian Living

Is Our Faith About Talk or About Power?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 12, 2019

The Kingdom of God Is About Power, Not Words

When Paul writes to his friends in the city of Corinth, he encourages them to change their behavior. In the middle of this, he slips in a curious line about the kingdom of God.

He says that God’s kingdom isn’t about talk but about power (1 Corinthians 4:20).

Jesus Showed the Power of the Kingdom of God

Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God. The Bible records some of the things he talked about, but more importantly it talks about things he did.

With God’s power he healed people and perform miracles. He exorcised demons and supernaturally fed thousands.

After demonstrating the power of the kingdom of God, then he talked. After seeing God’s power, the people were willing to listen.

The Early Church Moved in God’s Kingdom Power

In the book of Acts, we frequently see the power of God’s kingdom through the work of Jesus’s followers. They heal people, raise the dead, and cast out evil spirits. Usually this precedes them talking about Jesus.

Only after people see God’s supernatural power are their ears open to hear more about him.

Where Is God’s Kingdom Power Today?

Yet today many of Jesus’s followers don’t move in the power of the kingdom of God. They resort to words. They talk about it, but they don’t demonstrate its power. Is it any wonder that few people bother to listen to their message?

Our church services, at least most of them, are about words. But we don’t see much of God’s power when we go to church on Sunday. Yes, some churches are an exception, but too many have pushed aside the power of God and resort to mere talk.

Our sermons, which often comprise most of a church service are words.

For those of us on the inside, who follow Jesus, these words tickle our ears, fill us with knowledge, or give us something to chuckle about, but they do little to demonstrate what the kingdom of God is truly about. It’s about power.

We need to reclaim the power of the kingdom of God. Then, the world who needs to know Jesus and experience the kingdom of God will be ready to hear what we have to say.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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Tags early church, good sermon, heal, Jesus, kingdom of God, supernatural

Visiting Churches

What True Church Should Be (Visiting Church #3)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 9, 2019

“This won’t be a typical service” cautions a friend who greets us when we arrive.

The church suffered a tragedy, just three days before and not all the members yet know. The service will communicate this news and provide some needed God-perspective on the situation.

I appreciate the warning, while wishing our visit could be on a different day. However, I know God has a reason for us to be here today.

The service begins normally enough: Singing a chorus from the hymnal, a choir (something I’ve not seen in years), a few hymns, a time to greet one another, an offering, and a woman’s trio performing a “special music” number.

We know some of the songs, though the rest of the tunes have a vague familiarity.

What True Church Looks Like

The pastor stands to give his message. Until this point his public persona has been warm and inviting, abounding with smiles, and most engaging. Now he’s somber, struggling to release the words that well up in his heart.

Fighting tears, he shares the news bravely, forthright and with honesty. Ladies dab silent tears and stifle sniffles that break the silence. This is a day when we need “to remind ourselves who God is.”

His four-part message is a straightforward progression: 1) we are frail creatures, 2) we need God, 3) he is a faithful God, and 4) there is a future. It’s a message of comfort, abounding in hope. Our response to this tragedy is simple: to pray, weep, and then help.

Based on the pastor’s conduct and the congregation’s response, this close-knit church deeply cares for each other. They celebrate together and mourn together. This is what true community is all about and how church should be. This is true church.

[Read about Church #2 and Church #4, go to the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #3.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, community

Bible Insights

Women in the Bible: Peninnah

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 8, 2019
2 Comments on Women in the Bible: Peninnah

Peninnah is an unfamiliar Bible character. Hare you ever heard of her? She’s a co-wife with Hannah (the mother of Samuel). Their husband is Elkanah. Having two wives is never a good idea. Conflict ensues.

In a tale reminiscent of Jacob and his two wives, Rebecca and Leah, we have the story of Elkanah and his two wives.

Just as Jacob loves Rebecca more than Leah, Elkanah loves Hannah more than Peninnah. Likewise, as Rebecca, the favored wife, is childless, so too is Hannah, the favored wife.

Another parallel biblical account is of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Hagar, the wife with a child, harasses Sarah, the wife without a child. So to, Peninnah harasses Hannah. This is the extent of what the Bible says about Peninnah.

All we know then about her is that despite her producing children for Elkanah, he loves Hannah more—and Peninnah lashes out at her rival in the only way possible, by verbally tormenting her.

While we can’t condone her actions, we can understand them.

What we learn from this story (as well as from Leah and Hagar) is that having two wives (or girlfriends) is never a good idea.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Samuel 1-4 and today’s post is on 1 Samuel 1:4-6.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Women of the Bible