I never really understood the allure of staying up late on December 31 to welcome in the new year. As such, I saw no reason to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
As a teenager, however, I embraced the idea of staying up until midnight as confirmation I was growing up. It didn’t make much sense, however, as I struggled to be alert enough to enjoy it and dragged through the next day.
As a young adult, I’d stay up until midnight because I could, all the while wondering why I did. Then I’d shuffle off to bed in a stupor.
Now older and wiser, I go to bed on New Year’s Eve at my normal time, and I arise the next morning at my normal time. Call me a curmudgeon, if you will, but this makes the most sense to me.
Frankly, I see no reason to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Yet I should, perhaps not in the stay-up-late mindset of our secular practices, but from a spiritual perspective.
When we ring in the new year, it’s in anticipation of what is to come. The new year brings with it an excitement for a fresh beginning. Correspondingly, New Year’s Eve stands as a reminder of what was, of the preceding year.
Just as we say hello to what will be on New Year’s Day, we say goodbye to what was on New Year’s Eve.
This annual transition from past to future reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. He said to them—and to us—that as followers of Jesus we are a new creation. Who we were is gone. And the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In this way, as we celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, we can—and we should—connect this with our status as a new creation through Jesus Christ.
In another letter, Paul writes that he forgets what is behind him and strains toward what is ahead. In doing so he presses toward heaven with Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
As far as Jesus is concerned our past mistakes don’t matter. They’re forgotten. What does matter is what we do moving forward. Let us embrace what lies ahead and not dwell on what we cannot change.
With these things in mind, may we celebrate New Year’s Eve.
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.
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He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. (Luke 2:21)
The shepherds arrived shortly after Jesus’s birth to see the child the angel had told them about. Our story picks up eight days later, when it’s time to circumcise him.
We’re left to consider what happened in the days between these two events. Is this a private time for Mary and Joseph to spend adapting to the needs of a newborn and learning to care for him?
Do they spend time in awe, marveling at baby Jesus, contemplating who he will become, and considering what he will do?
I suspect they do, but they may also have some unexpected guests show up too.
Remember, when the shepherds leave, they tell others about their experience, spreading the news of Jesus’s arrival around town. Based on their testimony, I wonder how many curious people stop by to see baby Jesus.
As a result, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus could have seen a steady stream of visitors. Did any of these guests show up with food or gifts for the family?
Since they’re away from home and staying with farm animals, Mary and Joseph could certainly use any help they might receive.
When their baby is eight days old, it’s time to circumcise him. They name him Jesus. This is what the angel told Joseph in his dream, and it aligns with what Gabriel told Mary when he appeared to her.
It’s significant that God independently told both Mary and Joseph the same thing: to name their son Jesus. This fact helps confirm for them that they both heard from God.
They go to the temple for the purification ceremony prescribed by Moses. There they consecrate the baby to God (Exodus 13:2) and offer a sacrifice (Exodus 13:12 and Leviticus 12:8).
Though this seems most appropriate for Jesus, this isn’t unique to him. This ceremony is prescribed for everyone by the law of Moses.
Since the temple is in Jerusalem and they’re in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph must travel there. The Bible doesn’t say how long this journey takes them, but modern maps show these two towns to be about 5.5 miles (9 km) apart.
Under normal conditions, this trip would take about two hours by foot. But remember, Mary has just given birth, so they will certainly go at a slower pace.
Again, we don’t know if they travel by foot or if Mary has a donkey to ride. Regardless, she (or Joseph) holds baby Jesus the entire trip.
Imagine clutching an eight-day-old baby, trying to keep him comfortable and not jostle him along the way. Traveling to the temple, as commanded by God, is not just a simple walk.
How can we model Mary and Joseph’s obedience to God?
What is God telling us to do right now?
Who can we help today by delivering a meal, offering a gift, or providing encouragement?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we celebrate Jesus’s first few days on earth, may we be mindful of what he came to do and who we are through him.
[This devotional is taken from the December 27 reading from The Advent of Jesus.]
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
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.
John’s Vision for These Churches Provides Us With Practical Insight Today
Many people love the Book of Revelation, the apostle John’s supernatural treatise of the end times. It’s an epic read of God’s awesome power and the amazing, scary, exciting events that will usher us from this world into our eternal reality.
Yet readers are often in such a rush to read those words, they breeze through the first three chapters of John’s grand tale.
In chapter 1 of Revelation we read the book’s introduction. The exiled apostle has a supernatural experience, a grand vision.
God tells him to write what he sees and send it to seven area churches, those in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:10-11).
For each church God shares words of commendation and condemnation. We do well to carefully consider what he says. Though the immediate application applies to those seven specific churches, the broader function informs our churches today.
What can we learn from these churches to affirm and reform our local branch of Jesus’s church today? First we must celebrate what we do well, without a smug sense of pride and with an eye toward maintaining and growing each strength.
More importantly we must ask if any of Jesus’s criticism for those churches rightly applies to us today. If we’re willing to read with an open mind, we will find much to correct, as well as warnings of what to avoid.
I think a third application provides even greater insight for us on a personal level. How do Jesus’s words confirm and confront us?
We need to read Revelation chapters 2 and 3, not to unveil the future, but to unmask our present. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” Revelation 2:11, NIV.
Read more in Peter’s devotional Bible study, A New Heaven and a New Earth: 40 Practical Insights from John’s Book of Revelation.
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.
Is Christmas an important holiday to you? I suspect you’ll say, “yes.” And if you follow Jesus, you may say Christmas is the most important holiday because it celebrates his birth some 2,000 years ago.
That’s when Jesus came to earth to live among us and die in our place so that we can live forever with him. Happy birthday Jesus.
As the saying goes, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
Though Jesus is the basis behind Christmas, how much of our celebration focuses on him? I’m talking about Christmas trees, ornaments, lights, Santa Claus, reindeers, sleighs, eggnog, parties at work, and gatherings with family and friends.
Then there’s gift giving. Though it’s gotten out of hand, the idea of giving to others at Christmas does—or should—remind us that Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all: his life. But how many of us remember that?
Instead, we tune in to Christmas specials, watch Christmas movies, and sing Christmas songs. A few of them are even about Jesus.
When we strip away all the commercialization of Christmas and the man-made traditions we’ve grown to cherish, what do we have left?
A nativity. A baby laying in a manger with Mary and Joseph gathered around and an array of barnyard animals looking on. Amazed shepherds—and their sheep—stand nearby. Magi approach on their camels (never mind that they didn’t arrive until much later).
Happy Birthday Jesus
We may go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. There we hope to celebrate Jesus and sing some Christmas songs that are actually about him.
I wonder what Jesus thinks of our Christmas traditions, the day once intended for our focus to shift exclusively to him, but which has gotten eerily misappropriated.
Whenever I wish someone “Merry Christmas,” it carries a God-honoring implication, but I doubt many people receive it in the way I intend.
We may never be able to reclaim Christmas as the spiritual celebration it once was. But we can reframe it to recapture its intent. Yes, we can continue to celebrate Christmas. But don’t let a secular celebration overshadow the reason behind it.
Let’s celebrate Jesus’s birthday with equal—or even better—fervor. We can even make him a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to him.
Happy birthday Jesus (and Merry Christmas too)!
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
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.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
I don’t really think of Christmas Eve as a holiday as much as the prelude to one. Yet there is—or should be—a spiritual reason to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Anticipating Christmas
As a child I looked forward to Christmas Day with much excitement. On Christmas Eve I found it hard to fall asleep. I was too excited to quiet my racing expectations for the next day.
Not only did I struggle to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, sometimes I woke too early the next morning. My parents would wearily tell me to go back to sleep for a few more hours.
Yet despite my struggles to sleep that night and stay in bed until the morning light, Christmas Day would come and with it the presents I so looked forward to opening.
As such I didn’t celebrate Christmas Eve as much as endure it. It was something to patiently undergo so I could embrace Christmas presents the next day.
The Greatest Gift
Yes, I knew the reason for Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Yet the allure of opening gifts pushed the true reason for the holiday aside.
We are right to celebrate Christmas as a reminder of the baby born in Bethlehem who came to earth to save us for the punishment our sins deserve. And we can celebrate Christmas Eve as a prelude to Christmas Day.
Without first having Christmas Eve, we would never get to Christmas Day.
We celebrate Christmas Day as a reminder of Jesus coming to earth as a baby to save us. Yet one day of celebration doesn’t seem enough. That’s why we can celebrate Christmas Eve in anticipation of the blessed baby’s arrival the next day.
Thank You Jesus
We rightly see Jesus’s gift of salvation—set in motion at his birth—as the greatest gift that has ever been given and the greatest gift that ever will be given. With this we say, “Thank you, Jesus, for coming to earth to save us!”
We celebrate this—or we should celebrate this—on Christmas Day. And when we celebrate Christmas Eve, we can begin one day early our remembrance of Jesus and what he came to earth to do.
May we remember to celebrate Christmas Eve now with the same over-the-top excitement that we had as a child, looking forward to the day ahead.
Then it was presents. Now it’s a salute to the day of Jesus’s birth—the most significant day in all of history, throughout all time.
May we celebrate Christmas Eve with the same over-the-top excitement we had as a child, looking forward to Jesus’s birth on Christmas Day.
Thank you, Jesus!
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.
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Too Often We Place Our Personal Needs Over What God Is at Work Doing
When Jesus’s friend Lazarus dies, Jesus goes to where the man is interred and, with a dramatic flair, raises him from the dead. When the people see this miracle of miracles, many believe in Jesus.
Bringing someone back to life is an amazing feat, and surely everyone should be happy. But not everyone is. Do you know who’s upset? The religious leaders, the very people who claim to represent the God who sent Jesus in the first place. But they miss it.
They can’t see God’s hand at work. Or maybe they’re not willing to. All they can think about is themselves. Though under Roman occupation, they still managed to carve out a comfy situation for themselves. And they want to keep it.
They enjoy their standing as religious leaders and the admiration of the people. Selfishly, they want to preserve what they have, to maintain the status quo. In their self-centered ambition, they lose sight of the God they profess to serve.
They fail to realize that God is present.
These religious leaders fear losing their position, their power, and their prestige. Their solution? Kill Jesus. Yep, they become so focused on protecting their current situation that they plot against their God.
It’s easy to criticize them. Yet this same thing still happens now.
How many religious leaders today have become so focused on preserving their job, maintaining their paycheck, and holding on to their followers that they oppose the work of God? It occurs. In doing so, they resist God’s movements and instead act contrary to their faith and what he has called them to do.
It happens too often, and it’s wrong. We must always put God first, even if we might lose something of lesser importance in the process.
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.
When asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus said we’re to love God with all our heart, our soul, and our strength (Mark 12:29-31, quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5). We’re to love him more than anything else, to make him our number one priority.
And when we understand God as referring to the three-in-one Trinity, we realize we’re to love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. In this way, we are to love Jesus more than anything else.
It’s easy to claim that we love God more than anything else, that we put following Jesus first in our lives. But let’s consider what this entails.
Love Jesus More Than People
We must put loving God as more important than loving family. Jesus said that to be his disciple we must hate our parents, our spouse, our children, and our siblings (Luke 14:26). In short, we must hate our family.
But Jesus exaggerates to make his point—something his audience would readily understand. Hyperbole aside, the inescapable truth is that we must put Jesus before all others. This includes our family, as well as our friends and those we hold in high esteem.
When some people decide to put their trust in Jesus, they do so at great cost. Their family may disown them. Friends may shun them. They may lose their job or their standing within their community.
But compared to Jesus, none of these people matter. Jesus must come first.
Love Jesus More Than Our Possessions
Though we may readily say we love Jesus more than what we own, does our behavior confirm it? Consider our most prized possession. Are we willing to give it up for Jesus? If it competes with Jesus as first place in our life, we may need to sell it or give it away to remove its distraction. Or the Holy Spirit may convict us to let someone borrow it. For the sake of Jesus, we must hold what we own loosely.
Yet we must be ready to give up all that we have for the sake of Jesus. (Consider Matthew 19:29 and Luke 9:62.)
When fleeing for her life, Lot’s wife look back at what she was leaving behind and it cost her (Genesis 19:21-26).
Love Jesus More Than Our Position
Some people elevate their job above everything else in their life. It comes first and everything else—including God—comes in second. We may pursue it for the satisfaction we derive from our labors, the money we earn through our work, or the prestige of the position we hold. Yet if it gets in the way of us fully following Jesus, our job must go.
Love Jesus More Than Our Pleasures
A final consideration is our comfort. Putting God first and following Jesus as his disciple may result and giving up worldly contentment. We may face ridicule, we may suffer embarrassment, or we may be attacked, either verbally or physically. This could include death. We could—we will—suffer when we put Jesus first.
This may be in small ways or big ways, but we will suffer (1 Peter 4:12-19).
Love Jesus More Than Anything
To put Jesus first, to love God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—more than anything, we must set aside anything that might hold us back (Hebrews 12:1-3). We must make Jesus our number one priority, loving him more than family, property, work, and comfort. Those things all pale when we consider who he is and what he has called us to.
In doing so we’ll realize a heavenly reward of spending eternity with him. Nothing else matters, so put Jesus first,
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.
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Focus verse:Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6)
Today’s passage talks about knowing God and keeping his commands. If we claim to know God and don’t do what he says, we’re only deluding ourselves from the truth, and our claim is false. But when we obey his commands our love for God is complete.
In short, as his followers, we must live as he lived. We must be like Jesus.
We are fortunate to have four biographies of Jesus in the Bible to inform us about how he lived.
They are the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. By reading them we know what Jesus does during his time here on earth. Then we can follow his example and be more like him.
We don’t have to follow a bunch of rules with legalistic fervor or adhere to an extensive list of ritualistic commands like we find in the Old Testament. We must simply be like Jesus. It’s that easy.
Here are some of the things that Jesus does:
Jesus makes his relationship with his Father a priority. From an early age, Jesus puts his Father in heaven first (Luke 2:49). This is what matters most.
Jesus takes care of himself so that he can take care of his followers. Jesus knows that if he isn’t spiritually healthy, he can’t expect to be at his best to help others (Matthew 14:23).
Jesus has time for everyone who comes to him. While going to heal Jairus’s daughter, he pauses to heal a sick woman (Luke 8:40–56). He stays in Samaria for two extra days simply because the people ask him to (John 4:40).
Jesus teaches others about God. Jesus speaks with authority and not like other religious leaders (Mark 1:22). He instructs people using parables (Mark 4:2). His longest message in the Bible isthe Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7).
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
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.
Therefore, we shouldn’t invite people to go to church with us until after we invite them to follow Jesus. The early church was where they went afterward to grow in their newfound faith. But how can we invite friends to follow Jesus today?
Some people find it easy to invite friends to follow Jesus, but many find this a struggle. They don’t know what to say or the best way to say it. They don’t want to drive their friends away, so out of fear of doing it wrong, they do nothing.
Here are three straightforward ways to invite friends to follow Jesus:
Invite Them to a Bible Study
One way to invite friends to follow Jesus is to first invite them to a Bible study. You can do that.
But this shouldn’t be any Bible study. If you invite them to join an existing study with you and five of your Christian friends, they may think you’re ganging up on them. They may be uncomfortable with the Christian language that would normally permeate the discussion.
Instead, invite them to a Bible study with just the two of you. Or structure it as a Bible study with you and a group of unchurched friends. This could make for some robust discussions about Jesus, following him, and faith. Yet it would also be more challenging to do.
Therefore, a Bible study with just you and your friend may be the ideal solution.
But what if you think you’re not ready to lead a Bible study? What if you’re afraid they’ll ask a question you don’t know the answer to?
Yes, it may happen, but don’t worry about it. Pray for Holy Spirit insight before you meet. Trust God to give you the right words at the right time. (Consider what Jesus says in Luke 12:11-12.)
If you come up blank anyway, just say, “That’s a great question. Let me look into it, and we can discuss it next week.”
It’s also okay to say, “I’ve wondered about that, too, and I don’t know the answer.” They may respect you for your honesty.
Also, know that the question they ask may not be a concern to them but merely to divert the discussion away from something that makes them uncomfortable. This is what the Samaritan woman at the well did with Jesus (John 4:19-20).
You don’t need to have a ready answer to any question that may come up. No one could. That’s why we all need to grow in our faith. It’s a process.
For your Bible study you can pick a book in the Bible to read and discuss. The gospel of John is a great start for many people. If John doesn’t click with you, try Luke.
If leading them in a Bible study is too big of a stretch for you or something they’re not interested in, you could invite them to a book discussion.
Again, this should be either just the two of you or you and a group of unchurched friends. This is an even easier way to invite friends to follow Jesus, albeit indirectly.
The book you choose could be either fiction or nonfiction. Just make sure it’s a faith-friendly read. For nonfiction you may want to consider Women of the Bible or The Friends and Foes of Jesus.
Whether you do a Bible study or a book discussion, this will last for several weeks. At the end of the study or discussion, ask what they’d like to cover next. Along the way, encouraged them to invite their friends.
The short-term goal of these should be to forge deeper relationships, with a long-term goal being to invite your friends to follow Jesus. This can either happen through your words or through your actions.
Invite Them to a Service Project
If a Bible study or book discussion makes you uncomfortable (or isn’t of interest to them), consider doing an activity together.
Tell your friend about a service project you’re involved in and ask if they’d like to go with you. This could be at your church, a parachurch organization, or a community nonprofit. Most people are open to help others.
The purpose of this shouldn’t be the overt evangelism of your friend but to serve others. Give your friend space to ask questions. Let them guide your discussions.
This will happen when they’re ready, so it might take time. As you wait, pray for them, be patient, and let God work in their lives. Some label this approach as one way to do friendship evangelism.
As you serve others with your friend, this may provide the opportunity for you to invite them to follow Jesus. Or it may be an opportunity for you to invite them to take the next step, such as a Bible study or a book discussion, as we discussed above.
Moving Forward
You may have the gift of evangelism and find it easy to invite friends to follow Jesus. Yet most of us do not and are gifted in other areas.
But inviting them to a Bible study, book discussion, or service project are all straightforward ways to engage with others and invite friends to follow Jesus.
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.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” (Malachi 3:1)
The opening of Mark’s gospel quotes two Old Testament prophecies about John the Baptist. The first is from Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament.
But Malachi isn’t speaking his own words. He quotes directly from God, the Lord Almighty. In this way, we hear our Lord’s own words through his prophet and servant Malachi.
God says he will one day send someone to go before him and prepare the way for him. The messenger, as we’ll later learn, is John the Baptist. He will go ahead of Jesus to make the way for him.
Malachi writes that the people have wearied God with their words.
“How?” the people ask, not understanding their failings.
They do so by calling evil good (see Isaiah 5:20–21) and assuming God is pleased with them. They also question God’s apparent lack of justice.
In response to these people who weary God with their twisting of words and insulting accusations, he shares his solution. He’ll send a messenger tasked with preparing the way for me to come. And by me, he means Jesus.
After God’s messenger makes the way, then Jesus will suddenly appear. He’ll be the one they seek, the solution they desire.
“But who can endure his coming?” Malachi asks. “Who can stand before him?” These questions may seem like Jesus is someone we should fear. But we can also see this as a reason to revere God as the awesome Lord that he is.
In addition, Malachi writes that the message will purify them and refine them to make them—and us—right before God.
He’ll also speak out against sorcerers (false religions), adulterers (sexually immoral practices), and perjurers (liars). He will oppose those who cheat their workers, take advantage of widows and orphans, and prevent outsiders from receiving justice.
This is our Lord’s response to the naysayers who ask, “Where is God’s justice?”
Jesus will come to bring justice (see Luke 11:42 and Acts 17:31). Even more importantly, Jesus will provide a solution to make us right with Father God.
In what ways might we weary God with our words?
Do we care as much about justice as God does?
Most significantly, have we allowed Jesus to make us right with his Father?
Prayer: Jesus, may we have a heart aligned with yours for justice and then act to pursue it. May our actions to promote justice serve as both an act of worship and as a witness.
[This devotional is taken from the November 29 reading from The Advent of Jesus.]
Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.
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.
