Tag: sin

Biblical Murderers and How They Relate to Us

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 16, 2020

Biblical Murderers and How They Relate to Us

Consider some of the best-known biblical murderers.

Cain Kills Abel

We’re only four chapters into the Bible when the first murder occurs. Cain kills his brother Abel. The account in the Bible suggests that Cain premeditated his actions. First degree murder.

But let’s not view Cain as all evil. Like his brother, Cain worships God and brings an offering to him. (We do this too.)

Yet God finds Cain’s offering lacking. As a result, Cain is angry with God. (Are we ever angry at God?) Out of jealousy (another common human trait), Cain kills his brother (Genesis 4).

Although we haven’t likely killed someone, we have more in common with Cain then we want to admit.

Moses Kills an Egyptian

Another well-known and esteemed person in the Bible is Moses. Yet Moses is another one of our biblical murderers.

Moses witnesses an Egyptian overlord beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses his own kind. Seeing no one else watching, Moses kills the Egyptian and hides the evidence (Exodus 2:11-14).

Again, we see another instance of premeditated murder. Though we might sympathize with Moses’s actions or even say it was a just killing, the reality is that it’s still murder.

But despite Moses killing another man, God still uses Moses to free his people. God later has an intimate relationship with Moses, one that we’d all like to have.

David Kills Uriah

The third of biblical murderers is David. David spends many years of his life leading an army and slaying his enemies. But we don’t call him a murderer for his military exploits.

We call him a murderer for planning and ordering the death of his lover’s husband.

Not only is David a murderer, he’s also an adulterer (2 Samuel 11).

Yet the Bible later calls David a man after God’s own heart. Yes, David suffers for what he did, but God restores David into a right relationship with him.

Paul Kills Stephen

Paul, a key figure in the early church and the New Testament’s most prolific writer, is another of our biblical murderers.

Paul, a righteous and devout Jew, a godly person, is zealous in his opposition to the followers of Jesus. Paul does this for God and in the name of religion.

History is full of people who kill for their faith, but that doesn’t justify their actions.

Though Paul kills many for his religion, the Bible only gives us details of one: Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1). Yet despite Paul’s violent opposition to team Jesus, Jesus later calls Paul to follow him and grows him into a most effective missionary.

Judas Kills Jesus

Let’s not forget that Judas is another on the list of biblical murderers. Though he doesn’t physically kill another person as did Cain and Moses, and he doesn’t orchestrate a death like David, Judas is the catalyst for another death, Jesus.

Jesus—the most significant death to occur in the Bible, for humanity, and throughout all time. Though Jesus’s death is necessary to save us, that doesn’t forgive Judas for his part in making it happen.

Like Cain, we must realize that Judas isn’t all bad. He is a follower of Jesus, after all, a disciple. Yet he is also greedy, and in his greed he sells out Jesus (Luke 22:47-53).

Though Judas might have received forgiveness from Jesus—just as Jesus forgave and restored Peter into a right relationship with him—we’ll never know. Judas commits suicide out of remorse over what he did to Jesus.

Who Do We Kill?

Jesus teaches us what the Old Testament commands: killing is wrong.

Yet he goes beyond the physical act of murder to tell us that even being angry at another person is a sin. Implicitly it’s murder. As a result of anger, we are no less innocent than someone who murders another.

But there’s more. Much more. Though we blame Judas for Jesus’s death, we are part of it too. Because of our sins, Jesus had to die to reconcile us with Father God.

Our sins made it necessary for Jesus to die. As painful as it is to say, we helped murder Jesus.

Biblical Murderers

All five of these biblical murderers had a relationship with God. And at the time of the murders they committed, orchestrated, or approved, they weren’t in a good place with God on their faith journey. But it’s what happens afterward that counts.

Are we willing to put the past behind us—regardless of how horrific or benign it might be—and move forward to serve Jesus and advance the kingdom of God?

We can do much like Moses, David, and Paul. Or we can falter like Cain and Judas. The choice is ours.

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.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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.

Tags Abel, Cain, Jesus, King David, Moses, Paul, sin

Bible Insights

Do We Have a Positive Influence on Others or a Negative One?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 3, 2019
2 Comments on Do We Have a Positive Influence on Others or a Negative One?

The Evil Queen, Her Good-Bad Grandson, and the Influential Priest

In today’s passage we read about Queen Athaliah, her grandson Joash, and the priest Jehoiada. Here’s their story.

The Evil Queen Athaliah

Athaliah’s son Ahaziah is King. As with most mothers, she influences her son. But she doesn’t have a positive impact on him. Instead she encourages him to do what’s wrong, to behave badly. He does.

When he’s executed, Athaliah takes control. She kills the royal family, which includes her children and grandchildren. Then she sets herself up as Queen, with no one in the royal bloodline to challenge her. She rules for six years.

The Boy King Joash Who Starts Out Good and Ends Badly

However, one baby escapes her purge, her grandson Joash. He’s secreted away by his aunt, Jehosheba, who’s married to the priest Jehoiada. Together they protect baby Joash.

When he’s seven, they orchestrate a coup against Athaliah and kill her. Then they make Joash King. He does what God says is right. He’s a good king—at least at first.

The Godly Priest Jehoiada Who Influences the King

Since Joash was rescued by Jehosheba and kept safe by her and Jehoiada, Joash likely views them as parental figures. It turns out that Jehoiada must have influenced the king greatly.

But instead of being a negative influence like Athaliah was on her son, Jehoiada is a positive influence on Joash.

But then Jehoiada dies, and without his godly influence, King Joash becomes unmoored. He turns wicked, changing from a good king to a bad one. His life and legacy don’t end well.

Be a Positive Influence

In this story we have Queen Athaliah who influences her son to ignore God and embrace evil. We also have Jehoiada who has a positive influence on King Joash, but when Jehoiada dies, Joash waivers and does evil.

May we have a positive influence on others. And may we seek to surround ourselves with those who have a positive influence on us.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 2 Chronicles 22-24, and today’s post is on 2 Chronicles 22:3-4.]

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 family, priest, sin

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.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

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

Christian Living

Don’t Judge Jesus By His Church or Its Clergy

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 24, 2019

Our Spiritual Leaders May Fail Us and Let Us Down but Jesus Never Will

Relevant magazine cited a Gallup poll that revealed America’s trust in the clergy has hit a record low. And it’s fallen steadily since 2002.

In the early 80s two thirds of people respected spiritual leaders. Now only a bit more than one third (37 percent) do.

Though the clergy appears above the midpoint on the list, they’re still far from the top. Nurses hold the top spot at 84 percent, with the bottom slot going to members of Congress at 8 percent.

I mourn this decline in the standing of our clergy.

If there’s anyone we should be able to trust, it’s our spiritual leaders. Yet trust must be earned. And once it’s earned, it must be maintained. As a group, today’s clergy isn’t doing enough to maintain trust.

I won’t name names or mention specific organizations. I’m sure you can quickly make a list. It saddens me that most everyone can site a religious leader who has let them down through their moral failings or ethical lapses.

Standards for Clergy

Although the clergy are human and subject to temptation just like everyone, they must rise above their human failings. Because of their influence, they will be held to a higher standard (James 3:1). Yet they don’t always do this.

And when they falter, everyone knows it. Their sins are (eventually) broadcast for all to see (Luke 8:17).

They must be an example for us to follow, not to avoid. Paul got this. He urged people to follow him, in the same way he followed Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). That should be the standard for every leader in Jesus’s church

However, we shouldn’t judge Jesus by the shortcomings of our religious leaders. We shouldn’t turn our back on God and reject him, just because some of his representatives failed us and disappointed us.

Our spiritual leaders may falter and let us down, but we must remember that Jesus never will, and Father God never will either (Deuteronomy 31:6).

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags leadership, minister, sin, temptation

Christian Living

Is Church a Haven for Saints or a Hospital for the Sick?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 28, 2018

Jesus Didn’t Come for the Righteous but for Sinners

As Jesus walks along he sees a tax collector, Levi. He says to Levi, “Follow me.”

Levi gets up, leaves everything, and follows Jesus. Then Levi throws a party for his tax-collector friends. Jesus is there hanging out with them.

As often the case, the religious leaders criticize Jesus. They don’t think he should eat with notorious tax collectors and “sinners.”

Like always, Jesus has a response that catches everyone off guard. He says, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, only the sick.” Then he makes his point, “I didn’t come to earth to call righteous people to repent.

Instead I came to encourage sinners to turn their lives around.” (See Luke 5:27-32, Mark 2:14-17.)

Shouldn’t we do the same?

Most Churches are a Haven for Saints

But most churches focus on the righteous, the people who appear to have their act together. These churches don’t care about sinners, not really.

Yes, they say they do, but who do they invite to church? It’s usually other Christians, not non-Christians.

Church folks are uncomfortable hanging out with the non-churched. So-called sinners make them uneasy. (Remember, we all sin. It’s just that some of us have been made right through the gift of God’s goodness, Ephesians 2:8-9.)

Instead, we Christians spend time with people like us, not the people who need Jesus the most. For most people, the longer we’ve been a Christian, the fewer non-Christian friends we have.

Yet Jesus does the opposite. He ignores religious insiders, the righteous people. Instead he spends a lot of time interacting with those on the outside, the people society dismisses as sinners and outcasts.

But they’re the ones he wants to help. They’re the ones who need him the most.

Make Church a Hospital for the Sick

People who need Jesus need a safe place where they can encounter him and learn about him. They need love, not judgment. They need to be able to come to Jesus as they are, not after they’ve changed their lifestyle to become “good.”

When Jesus calls Levi, he doesn’t call the tax collector to change his behaviors. Jesus calls Levi to simply, “Follow me.”

Shouldn’t we and our churches do the same? Shouldn’t we focus on encouraging people who need Jesus to follow him?

Instead we’ve turned our churches into a comfortable club where we sequester ourselves from the world and spend time with each other—ignoring the people who need Jesus.

Look Outward at People Who Need Jesus, Not Inward at Ourselves

When we make church a haven for saints, we have a selfish perspective. We hold an internal focus. However, when we view church as a hospital for the sick, we have a selfless perspective. We hold an external focus.

We need to put others ahead of ourselves (Philippians 2:3)—especially those who need Jesus.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags church, follow Jesus, sin

Christian Living

How to Deal with the Faith Versus Doubt Problem

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 23, 2018

Struggling with Doubt Isn’t a Sin, But We Must Avoid Letting Doubt Squash Our Faith

I once listened as a friend wrestled with the issue of faith versus doubt. She groaned in anguish over her struggle to believe with full faith, dismayed over the arrows of doubt that assaulted her.

I blurted out, “Faith without doubt isn’t faith. It’s a sure thing.”

I said this without thinking, and I’m still pondering it today. I hope it came from God, but I’m not sure. I think it’s profound, but maybe it isn’t. Yes,

Jesus affirms that great power results when we have faith without doubt. It’s a faith that can actually move mountains (Matthew 21:21). But does anyone have that kind of faith?

However, I suspect that to have faith without doubt isn’t a command. Instead it’s something to strive for, a goal to pursue even though we may never reach it.

As a result we’re left to contemplate the faith versus doubt problem.

What the Bible Says about Faith Versus Doubt

The word faith appears hundreds of times in the Bible, most prominently in Psalms (74 times), followed by Romans (40 times) and Hebrews (39 times).

In Hebrews we read that “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).

The chapter goes on to talk about the great faith of people in the Old Testament. Nowhere in the whole chapter does the issue of doubt come up. And surely some of these patriarchs did have a tinge of doubt assaulting their faith.

Yet they moved forward in faith anyway.

Interestingly the word doubt only appears fourteen times in the Bible, with the book of Matthew taking the lead (3 times).

In it Jesus criticizes his disciples for their lack of faith and for their doubt (Matthew 14:31). Later he tells Thomas to stop doubting and to believe (John 20:27).

I don’t view doubt as a sin, but I do see doubt that keeps us from acting in faith as disobedience. Ideally God would like us to have a faith with no doubt, but I don’t think it particularly bothers him when we struggle in the faith versus doubt department.

If our faith wins out over doubt, we’re good. However, we must avoid doubt that squashes faith, causing us to cower in fear instead of acting in boldness.

As long as we’re human, I suspect we’ll struggle with faith versus doubt.

But if we follow Jesus, we’ll have the power to overcome our doubt through faith.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags doubt, faith, sin, Thomas

Bible Insights

What Can We Learn from Cain and Abel?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 2, 2018

The First Brothers in the Bible Provide the First Account of Sibling Rivalry

The first two people mentioned in the Bible are Adam and Eve. The next two people are their sons, Cain and Abel. It would seem these four people should get along. They can’t. The result of the conflict is tragic. Cain kills Abel.

Here’s their story:

Cain and Abel worship God by giving him some of the output from their work. God accepts Abel’s gift but doesn’t accept Cain’s. The Bible doesn’t explain why. Though many people speculate on the reasons, we just don’t know.

There is, however, an implication that perhaps Cain sinned, either in his offering or in some other area of his life.

Whatever the reason for God rejecting Cain’s gift, Cain becomes angry. The Bible is unclear about the focus of Cain’s anger. Was he angry at God, or jealous of his brother’s spiritual success? Both are reasonable assumptions.

However, regardless of the source, Cain takes action against his brother Abel.

Cain lures Abel out to a field. There Cain kills Abel, in a pre-meditated act of murder. Only four chapters into the Bible and we already have our first homicide.

The Story of Cain and Abel Teaches Us Five Things

1. Worshiping God is serious business

The Bible tells us to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). We can go through the motions, and we can pretend. But God isn’t fooled. He wants us to give him our very best.

This isn’t because he needs something from us but because he deserves it.

2. We must control our anger

When Paul says to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26), he implies anger is okay as long as we don’t allow it to cause us to sin. Cain’s anger caused him to sin.

3. Leave punishment in God’s hands

Whether out of anger or retaliation, Cain executes judgment on his brother. Cain kills Abel. This, however, doesn’t solve the problem. It just causes a new one.

4. There are consequences to sin

Now Cain must answer to God for what he did. Even though God is merciful in judging Cain’s sin, it’s still more than Cain can bear (Genesis 4:13).

5. Seek a Better Way

What if, instead of Cain getting mad and killing his brother, he sought to worship God in a better way? He could have asked God what he did wrong and what he should do differently. Or he could have asked his brother for help.

Had Cain taken the high road instead of lashing out in anger, we could have had a much different outcome: two brothers getting along and helping one another worship God.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is Genesis 3-5, and today’s post is on Genesis 4:3-8.]

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags mercy, sin, worship

Personal Posts

Are You Absolutely Sure?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 7, 2017

The undercurrent to society’s willingness to cheat on just about anything goes back some thirty to forty years.

It began with the assertion that there are no moral absolutes, that each person must decide for him or herself what is right and what is wrong.

This opens the door for unrestrained cheating.

Therefore, if it is left up to each individual, it becomes amazingly simple to justify cheating, lying, stealing, hurting others, and doing anything that brings about pleasure or produces power.

We are rightfully shocked when one person injures another for the sport of it.

Or when upper-middle-class teenagers commit armed robbery for the adrenalin rush it gives them.

Or how about an ignored or harassed student who carries a gun to school to take revenge.

Each of these instances are real and each has been repeated too many times.

Yet our schools teach, and society reinforces, that each person should choose what is right or wrong for him or herself. This is the result.

It’s been suggested that the liberal thinking promoting this philosophy was really advocating that there were no moral sexual absolutes. What they wanted was justification for a promiscuous existence—and without guilt.

However, to assert that there are no sexual moral absolutes, but that all other moral issues are absolute, is illogical and nonsensical.

Therefore, to justify indiscriminate sexual behavior, their argument needed to extend itself to all moral issues, be it sex, cheating, lying, stealing, or killing.

The Bible calls these things sins.

What we got was a quagmire of moral confusion and anarchy that has permeated our culture and threatened our future.

I know that it’s not popular these days to claim that there are moral absolutes, but the alternative is the slippery slope we are on towards mayhem and chaos.

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 biblical Christianity, Sacred-Secular Divide, sin

Christian Living

Are You a Friend of Sinners?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 7, 2016

It’s Hard to Embrace Those Who are Different from Us but We Should

The word sin is an unpopular one in today’s culture. Postmodern thinking rejects moral absolutes and advocates that anything goes. Under an ideal of tolerance, society claims that to label an action as sinful is judgmental, closeminded, and unacceptable.

Ironically they become intolerant of people who talk about sin.

In reality, everyone sins (Romans 3:23).

It’s just that we downplay or even ignore our own sins, while we recoil from the sins of others, which we deem as more objectionable or even abhorrent.

The Bible says Jesus is a friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34). This slur comes from his detractors, and he repeats it. They intend it as criticism, but we see it as a badge of honor.

We admire Jesus for hanging out with the people that the righteous religious society rejects: prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors, lepers, the sick and unclean, other races and mixed races, and so forth.

It seems Jesus accepts everyone the religious leaders discard. In fact he makes a point to do so, often going out of his way to welcome them. He embraces them; he loves them.

We respect Jesus for doing so. Shouldn’t we do the same? Shouldn’t we be like Jesus?

Shouldn’t we make a point to behave more like Jesus and reach out to those the organized church reviles?

Who might this be? The other political party? Muslims? The LGBTQ community? Pornographers? Those with a criminal record? The list goes on. There is no end.

Hosea writes that God desires mercy not sacrifice, that is, offering mercy trumps following a bunch of rules (Hosea 6:6). Jesus confirms this and adds that these folks are the reason he came (Matthew 9:12-13).

Let’s be more like Jesus and befriend those who the church rejects.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags Jesus, love, mercy, postmodern, sin

Bible Insights

Should We Confess the Sins of Our Nation?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 23, 2016
2 Comments on Should We Confess the Sins of Our Nation?

Daniel Reads the Scriptures, Fasts, and Prays, Confessing the Sins of His People

When I think of praying, confessing my faults to God is not the first thing that comes to mind. And when I am convicted of the need to admit to an errant act or a missed opportunity, I don’t linger there.

I make it quick and then move on to more pleasant communication with my Maker, Savior, and Guide.

Basking in the spiritual reality of the almighty God is where I want to be. Acknowledging my faults to him is not nearly so much fun.

Personal confession is hard enough; corporate confession—admitting the faults of our community—is barely comprehensible to me. Yet that is exactly what Daniel does.

Daniel studies the prophecies in scripture. He sees that his people are receiving punishment for turning away from God. He reads the foretelling that their exile will last seventy years. That time is almost up.

Yet instead of thanking God that the allotted season of deportation is about over, Daniel is driven to contrition and fasting. He confesses the sins of his forefathers and countrymen.

It’s as if he takes the sins of the nation upon his shoulders and confesses them to God:

“We have sinned.”
“We have been wicked.”
“We have turned away.”
“We have not listened.”
“We have not obeyed.”
“We have rebelled.”
…and on he goes.

Mixed in with his confession for his people is praise and affirmation to God.

In this Daniel, for whom the Bible records no sin, takes on the collective “we” to confess his nation’s faults. He doesn’t need to do this, but he does. Maybe we should do the same for our country.

Maybe it’s time to confess the wrongs of our nation.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Daniel 7-9, and today’s post is on Daniel 9:4-19.]

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags fasting, pray, sin