Abner is captain of Saul’s army and initially opposes David.
Later, he switches his allegiance. Nevertheless, Joab, the leader of David’s army, kills Abner to avenge his brother’s death.
David weeps for Abner and sings this lament.
“Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands weren’t bound, and your feet weren’t put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell.”
David viewed Abner’s life as valuable. Joab didn’t. David forgave. Joab held a grudge. David mourns Abner’s death, whereas Joab caused it.
Do we value the lives of others? What can we do to elevate the lives of all people, regardless of their situation?
May we see others as God sees them.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
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.
Our Reason for Doing Good Shouldn’t Be for Recognition but Because It’s the Right Thing to Do
Mordecai, a noble man, raises his orphaned cousin, Esther. Mordecai’s nemesis is Haman. Though Haman has everything going for him, he doesn’t enjoy it. This is because Mordecai refuses to give Haman the respect he thinks he deserves.
Haman so hates Mordecai that he wants to kill him, along with all the other Jews throughout the kingdom. This is the setting for today’s story.
One night the king can’t sleep. He asks one of his aides to read from the book chronicling his reign. The aide reads about the account of Mordecai when he thwarted an assassination attempt of the king.
Reminded of the situation, the king asks what honor Mordecai received for his heroic deed.
“Nothing,” the aide responds.
At that moment, Haman waits in the court for a chance to ask the king’s permission to hang Mordecai. When the king learns Haman is nearby, he calls for him—unaware of Haman’s intent. The king asks Haman what should be done for someone who the king wants to honor.
Haman egotistically assumes the king wants to honor him and gives the answer of what he would most want for himself. But the king surprises Haman when he tells him to go honor Mordecai in that exact way.
Mortified, Haman does as instructed. Mordecai receives honor in the way Haman had wanted for himself. Then Haman goes home in shame.
When the king’s life was threatened, Mordecai did what was right. And the king didn’t even thank him for it. It wasn’t until later—likely much later—that the king honors Mordecai for his noble deed.
When we do what is right or help others, we may see immediate recognition. Or we may receive a delayed appreciation—just like how Mordecai receives honor in today’s story. Or we might never receive any praise at all for our noble actions.
Yet God knows all that we do and appreciates it, even if others don’t.
Though the acclaim of others is nice, doing what’s right—regardless of the recognition we receive—is what matters. Our motivation shouldn’t be to gain attention or receive the applause of others.
Instead, we should be quiet and humble, doing what is right and good in secret. Then God will reward us for it (Matthew 6:1-4). And that’s what counts.
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.
Focus verse:They were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (John 21:6)
The book of Luke has a story of Jesus. It’s early in his ministry. In this account, he tells a couple of fishermen to go out to deep water and cast their nets, despite having fished all night with no success.
Imagine that, a carpenter giving fishing tips to seasoned fishermen.
The amazing thing is, when they do as he suggests, they take in so many fish that their nets are about to break. It’s as if Jesus wants to get their attention. He does.
Jesus seeks disciples. Because of this miraculous catch, they abandon their trade to follow him. From now on, he says, they’ll fish for people (Luke 5:4–11).
Jesus calls these career fishermen to a greater purpose. Instead of casting their fish nets to catch fish to earn a living, they’ll now cast spiritual nets to fish for people to build Jesus’s kingdom (Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17).
As they transition to fish for people, the implication is they will experience a great catch. Today we see just how much. Building on what they began, about two billion people in the world now align themselves with Jesus.
This great catch works so well in getting their attention that Jesus does it again. This occurs at the end of his ministry, after he rises from the dead, but before he returns to heaven.
The fishermen-turned-disciples don’t know what to do with their risen leader saying he will soon leave, so they return to fishing. They catch nothing.
Jesus hollers for them to try fishing on the other side of the boat. They do and another miraculous catch occurs. Again, he gets their attention. This should remind them that he wants them to transition to fishing for people.
The New Testament has another fish story that ties in with this. It’s a parable. Some people call it the parable of the net and others say it’s the parable of the great catch (Matthew 13:47–50).
Jesus uses this story to teach about the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of God).
He tells us to imagine a great net lowered into a lake and dragged through the water. When full, the fishermen haul the catch to shore to sort the fish. They place the good fish in baskets, and they throw the inferior fish away.
This teaches us about the end times, with angels separating those who lived right from those who did wrong.
Questions:
How do you respond when God tells you to do something that doesn’t make sense?
What has God done to get your attention?
What have you given up to follow Jesus?
Are you fishing for people to join you in Jesus’s kingdom?
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.
Discover How to Navigate and Rightly Understand What Paul Wrote
The apostle Paul is the most prolific writer in the New Testament. He wrote about half of the books, which comprise roughly one third of the content. These are all letters. Some of Paul’s letters are to groups of people and others are to individuals.
Paul wrote Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He addresses them to groups of people, usually churches. Paul wrote 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon to individuals. In these various letters, he sometimes had cowriters, but even then, he took the lead.
These letters total thirteen of the New Testament’s twenty-seven books. Though we don’t know who wrote Hebrews, it’s possible Paul was one of the unidentified co-authors. If so, this would bump the total to fourteen books he was involved in writing.
In most cases, however, we don’t know the circumstances behind why Paul wrote these letters, so we need to take care that we don’t take what he intended for one person or one church from long ago and wrongly apply it to us today.
Though we clearly know the circumstances for Paul writing to Philemon (a petition to restore the runaway slave, Onesimus, to his master), in most cases we don’t know the situations behind Paul’s letters. As we read them, it’s as if we’re listening to half of a conversation and don’t know the context.
He may have been answering a question they asked or addressing a specific problem that’s come to his attention (such as 1 Corinthians 1:11). But we usually don’t know. Just as listening to one side of a phone call could cause us to form wrong conclusions, we run the same risk if we don’t read Paul’s letters with care.
As a result, we should be wary of Paul’s writings so that we don’t misunderstand them. Yet we would be equally wrong to dismiss his letters as not applicable. To better navigate this tricky dilemma, we’ll do well to divide the content of Paul’s letters into three categories.
Paul’s Story
In Paul’s letters, he often talks about his personal situation. He writes about the things he did in the past, what he’s doing in the present, and his plans for the future. He also tells us about other people or situations. We can treat these passages just like any other historical section of the Bible.
When we read Paul’s letters, we may be surprised at how often he talks about himself or situations he’s aware of. We can learn much through Paul’s example and his life, as revealed in his letters.
Paul’s Teaching
Another portion of Paul’s writings teach the recipients about the truths of God and how to best navigate their journey of faith. Though Paul certainly selects what he teaches based on the specific needs of the recipients, we don’t need to know why he’s doing so.
Regardless of the circumstances, we can trust Paul’s teaching to contain godly truths that universally apply to all people regardless of the situation or the era. Paul’s teachings in his letters are clearly applicable to us today.
Paul’s Commands
The third type of content in Paul’s letters is where things get tricky. It’s when he tells his audience what to do. Though the applicability of some situations are clear, most are not.
Consider when Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine for medicinal purposes. This instruction is obviously directed to Timothy and him alone. It would be foolish for us to think Paul is commanding us to drink wine. This would be especially detrimental for a recovering alcoholic.
Another example is when Paul tells Philemon to prepare a guest room for him. Paul’s certainly not telling us to prepare a guest room for him today. That wouldn’t make sense.
An alternate example is Paul’s frequent command to love one another. He gives this instruction in six of his letters. Peter and John also include this command in three of their letters. Most importantly, Jesus teaches we are to love one another (John 13:34).
Therefore, Paul’s command to love one another is something we should all follow. We know this because Paul repeats it to several audiences, Peter and John concur, and most importantly, it comes from Jesus himself.
Yet most of the rest of Paul’s instructions fall in the murky area between these two extreme examples. We’re left with a dilemma of wondering whether these commands from Paul are generic instructions we should all follow today or specific direction tailored to one audience: the letters recipients. In this latter case, we may be incorrect to assume these commands of Paul apply to us today.
To guide us in navigating this dilemma we can consider three principles. First, if Paul wrote the same command to multiple audiences, it more likely applies to us too. Second, if other New Testament writers give the same instruction, we can give it even more credence. Last, and most significantly, is if Jesus commanded it. Then we must follow and obey what he said.
And we can turn to the Holy Spirit to guide us in how to rightly navigate Paul’s commands that we find written in his letters.
Conclusion about Paul’s Letters
We must treat the commands we find in Paul’s letters with care. We should neither outrightly dismiss them as irrelevant nor naively embrace them without considering if they’re meant for us.
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.
It’s a holiday weekend. Our son and daughter-in-law are out of town, so we’re free agents. A return trip to the Megachurch is in order, but our daughter invites us to go to a church she and her husband have visited the past couple of weeks. A friend from college invited her.
The Megachurch can wait.
This church, part of an old traditional denomination, has two services: 9:15 and 11:00. We’ll go to the first one. I check their website and am encouraged to read the bold proclamation: “Making passionate followers of Jesus.” This must be their vision.
Their mission statement likewise impresses me, using the phrases “community of faith,” “renewed by the Holy Spirit,” “transformation of lives and community,” and “for God’s glory.”
Besides typical church components such as student ministries and community service opportunities, they also offer Alpha classes and small groups.
What’s unusual is they have a recovery program for people struggling with life issues. From what I see online, this is a big emphasis of this church.
I learn that the church is 7.2 miles away and the drive will take eleven minutes. We plan to leave twenty-five minutes early, but it ends up being more like fifteen. As I drive, my wife, Candy, prays for our time there.
Along the way, we pass several churches. As we wonder about them, the names become jumbled, and we forget the name of where we’re headed. I should have written it down, along with the address.
All I remember is the cross streets it’s near. I hope there’s only one church at that intersection.
But we find the church easily enough.
Larger Than Expected
The facility is much larger than I expect. As we head toward the entrance, our daughter texts us they’re running late.
A young couple notices us, and the wife greets us. It’s our daughter’s friend from college. I’ve only seen her twice, with the last time being about three years ago, but she recognizes us right away.
We chat as we stroll into the building. They invite us to sit with them—if we’d like. We appreciate this friendly gesture and gladly accept, as they find seats for us and two more for the rest of our family.
I estimate the sanctuary—which is a newer building with a trendy minimalist church design—seats four to five hundred. It’s over half full, which isn’t bad for a Labor Day weekend.
The service starts a few minutes late, but not before our kids arrive and slide in next to Candy. Soon the worship team—consisting of guitars, drums, and keyboard—plays an instrumental piece to signal that the service is about to begin.
Their style is smartly contemporary, without being edgy. I assume Candy will appreciate their professional sound, while I’d prefer a bit more edge. We stand to sing for the opening set.
Afterward is a series of announcements, previewing the fall kickoff of various programs and reviewing the upcoming schedule.
With all age groups present, we learn the average age at the church is twenty-seven. However, this isn’t a church dominated by millennials, but more so one with a slew of kids and their Gen X parents.
They have a typical time for greeting. Though the people are nice as we shake hands, it’s cursory, consisting of pleasant smiles and lacking connection. Aside from our family and hosts, this is the only time all morning we interact with anyone else.
A clipboard moves down the row for us to leave our contact information. Candy enters our data, and I pass it to our friends.
An Outlier Church for Their Denomination
For this denomination, this one is quite progressive, an outlier congregation. But based on my overall church experiences it’s more middle-of-the-road. It’s certainly not traditional, but it still retains hints of traditional elements.
Today is the final message of the sermon series, “Letters to the Angels,” taken from Revelation 2 and 3. But before that, we’re treated to a skit, a takeoff on Jimmy Fallon’s thank-you notes routine, performed by their worship leader.
It’s done well, with relevant church humor, such as “Thank you, small group leaders, for doing work the staff doesn’t want to do” and “Thank you, church volunteers, for essentially being unpaid employees.”
In handing the service to the minister, the worship leader jokes that he’s thankful for only working one day a week.
The Church in Laodicea
The seventh letter, written to the angel of the church in Laodicea, is in Revelation 3:14–22. Whenever I’ve studied this passage, I’ve focused on the church being lukewarm and God’s rejection of them as a result.
Though the minister addresses this, his focus is on their smug self-complacency, which is also a pervasive issue in society today. We, like the church in Laodicea, need to “repent of being in control.”
Their problem—as with today’s culture, says the pastor—is their greed. “It’s not all about me,” he quips, decrying their self-focus. To their shame, they act as they do, relying on God’s grace to get them into heaven.
“He who has ears,” concludes the pastor, as he quotes from the text, “let him hear.”
When the service ends, most people head out, but we linger to talk with our family and friends. Though I thought the service was well attended, they say it was far below normal. I wonder about attendance at the second service.
I notice a Celtic cross on the side of the sanctuary and ask about its significance, but no one knows. As I recall, the circle that surrounds the intersection of the cross’s two arms represents unity or eternity, two concepts I embrace: unity while on earth, followed by eternity in heaven.
Different Perspectives
Later, I talk with my son-in-law about the church. He likes it but wants something more contemporary, more like the church we went to before we moved. I agree with him and then wonder aloud if this might be the closest we’ll find in this more traditional area.
Based on my experiences with this denomination, they’re contemporary compared to others in their denomination, an outlier. But they fall short of that compared to other churches.
The next day we talk about our experience when our son and daughter-in-law return home. They visited this church once and liked it but aren’t sure why they never went back.
When I say, “No one else talked to us,” they recall the same experience.
I tell Candy I could see myself going back.
She doesn’t. “I have no interest in returning.”
“We’ll see,” I say. “This may be the closest match we’ll find in the area.”
She snorts. “I sure hope not.”
Takeaway
Invite visitors to sit with you. And if you see someone you don’t know, reach out to them. You might be the only person to talk to them.
This book picks up the mantle from 52 Churches, our year-long sabbatical of visiting churches.
Here’s what happens:
My wife and I move. Now we need to find a new church. It’s not as easy as it sounds. She wants two things; I seek three others.
But this time the stakes are higher. I’ll write about the churches we visit, and my wife will pick which one we’ll call home. It sounds simple. What could possibly go wrong?
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.
Though Samuel has already anointed David as king, Saul continues to rule. David could move to seize the throne, but instead he patiently waits for God’s timing. As he does, he respects Saul’s authority as the reigning king. David also forms a tight bond with Saul’s son Jonathan.
When Saul and Jonathan die in battle, the path is clear for David to ascend to the throne that God intended for him. David has every right to rejoice in Saul’s death, since Saul tried to kill him multiple times. But David instead mourns Saul and Jonathan’s passing.
“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! Don’t tell it in Gath. Don’t publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and cast away, The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan’s bow didn’t turn back. Saul’s sword didn’t return empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you delicately in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing. How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
Reflections on David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
Like David when hearing of King Saul’s death, we often have two ways to respond to the misfortunes of those who oppose us. We can be happy or sad. We can celebrate or grieve.
How do we respond when something good happens to us at the expense of another, such as the suffering of an enemy? How content are we to wait for God’s perfect timing?
May we react to all situations in a God-honoring way.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
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.
Zachariah isn’t one of the better-known Old Testament prophets, and we don’t often read his book in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore it. A reoccurring theme in Zachariah’s writing is a shepherd and his sheep, about bad shepherds and bad flocks.
These allusions to a shepherd apply to Zachariah’s audience, looks prophetically into the future, and provides a valuable illustration for us today.
The eleventh chapter in Zachariah’s book digs into perplexing references about shepherds and their sheep. It’s about God and his people, about leaders and their charges, and it’s about us.
Each of these emerges with a bit of perplexing confusion. Zachariah seems to be talking figuratively, while at the same time personifying God.
Zachariah writes, “The flock hates me, and I’m sick and tired of them. I’m done with them. Let them die,” (Zechariah 11:8-9).
I wonder, how often do we hate God? Or at least, how often do we act as though we do? I get that. What horrifies me, however, is the thought of God giving up on us and walking away. Yet it’s exactly what he did and is doing in this text with his chosen people.
May we never hate God. More importantly, may God never give up on us.
Now let’s apply this to today’s congregations and their leaders.
Churches Who Detest Their Shepherd
Most church members at most churches adore, or at least respect, their leaders. That is their preacher, or more biblically, their shepherd. Yet I’ve seen instances where things go awry, where the church flock—the sheep—despise their leader—their shepherd.
Though this is sometimes the fault of the leader, more often, it’s the result of bad sheep who misbehave and don’t follow well.
Shepherds Who’ve Given Up on Their Flocks
Other times I’ve seen shepherds who’ve given up. They’re burnt out, exhausted, and function in survival mode. This may be their own issue, but I suspect that in most cases it’s a human reaction to how they’re treated by their flock.
Shepherds and Their Flocks
Sometimes churches who disrespect their pastor and pastors who have given up on their church deserve each other. The blame lies with both parties. Unfortunately, once a church finds itself in this situation, it’s almost impossible to work through it and turn things around.
Aside from God’s supernatural intervention, a broken shepherd-flock relationship is impossible to fix.
A Good Shepherd and Good Sheep
God gives us shepherds to lead, protect, and nurture us. But we need to be good sheep too. We need to speak well of our shepherds, stand up for them, and respect them.
If we can’t do that, we’re hurting our shepherd and damaging the flock. If we aren’t careful, we’ll be the cause for the very thing Zachariah writes about in today’s text.
Good shepherds and good sheep are part of the solution, not the cause of the problem.
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.
Focus verse: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
The Bible writes that faith is having confidence in the things we hope for and assurance in what we don’t see (Hebrews 11:1). Today this definition of faith applies to us.
We cannot see Jesus, so we must accept his resurrection and the salvation that he provides through faith. We have confidence and assurance that he overcame death to save us.
The disciples and Jesus’s other followers have it better than we do. Some of them see the empty tomb and eventually all of them meet the resurrected Jesus. It doesn’t take so much faith to believe what their eyes perceive. John, “the other disciple,” sees and believes (John 20:8).
We can assume that Mary and Peter also believe once they see the evidence of Jesus’s empty tomb (John 20:1–2 and 6–7). The rest of the disciples believe when they see him (John 20:20)—or at least everyone except Thomas.
Though Matthew, Mark, and Luke only mention Thomas once, John tells us more about him than the rest of the Bible combined. He shares three accounts about Thomas.
The first story is Jesus telling his disciples what to expect and encouraging them to believe. He talks of preparing a place for them in heaven and coming back to get them so they can hang out with him forever. Then Jesus adds, “You know the way.”
This confuses Thomas. He wants clarification.
Jesus responds with what has become a familiar verse. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
The second story is what Thomas is most known for. This is where we get the phrase doubting Thomas. When Jesus rises from the dead and sees his disciples for the first time, Thomas is absent.
He doesn’t believe the disciples when they insist that Jesus is alive—again. Thomas does the reasonable thing and demands proof.
In the third story, the disciples, including Thomas, hide in a locked room. Jesus materializes in their midst. He shows Thomas the nail scars in his hand and invites him to examine his side, pierced by the soldier’s spear. “Stop doubting,” Jesus says, “and believe.”
At last, Thomas does. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas now believes. He is no longer doubting Thomas but believing Thomas.
Though doubt characterizes him for a time, belief is where he ends up. He finishes strong. May we do likewise. May we have a firm belief in Jesus and who he is.
Jesus blesses Thomas because he sees and believes. We’re more blessed because we haven’t seen and still believe.
Questions:
Do you doubt that Jesus is who he claims to be? Why?
How do you define faith?
What should you do when your faith wavers?
Is faith the absence of doubt or is it belief in the face of doubt? Why?
Which of John’s three stories about Thomas do you most identify with? Why?
Discover more about faith in Hebrews 11:1–40. What insights can you glean from this passage?
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.
We Glorify God and Serve as the Most Effective Witness When We Get Along
I write a lot about the importance of Christian unity. This is because Jesus prayed that we would be one, and I embrace his request and vision as imperative. If we profess to following Jesus, we need to all get along. We must live in unity, perfect unity.
I’m not just talking about unity within your congregation, though that’s important. I’m not alluding to unity within your denomination, though that’s important too. And I’m not even referring to unity with those churches that agree with yours.
True unity addresses the entire church of Jesus, that’s all who follow him. He wants us all to get along. Every one of us. This includes other Christians we disagree with—especially those we disagree with.
Jesus Prayed for Our Unity
In Jesus’s lengthy prayer before he died for us, he wrapped up by praying for all his future followers that we would get along and be one, just as he and his Father are one (John 17:23). Their example is one of perfect unity, and we must pursue it with all diligence.
Jesus Died for Our Unity
Jesus died as the ultimate sin sacrifice to redeem us—to make us right with Father God—and bring about unity to all things in heaven and on earth through him. All things include us—it especially includes us (Ephesians 1:7-10).
We Are to Live in Unity
Furthermore, Paul urges the Ephesians—and by extension us—to live a life worthy of our calling, to be humble, gentle, patient, and loving, to make every effort to live in unity. This is because we are one body, through one Spirit, called to one hope, through one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, from one God (Ephesians 4:1-6). We are to be one. This is what it means to live in perfect unity and why we should do so.
True Love Results in Unity
Paul also writes as God’s chosen people—as followers of Jesus—we are to live with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We are to bear with one another and forgive one another, just as Jesus forgave us. These all fall under the umbrella of love, working together to produce perfect unity (Colossians 3:12-14).
Live in Perfect Unity
As followers of Jesus, we must get along. We must live in unity with one another. This is an answer to his prayer for us, glorifies Father God, and serves as our most effective witness to a watching world who needs Jesus to save them.
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.
From the Dear Theophilus Bible Study Series, Books 6, 8, and 9
The “disciple whom Jesus loved” wrote five New Testament books. His books of John and Revelation are two of the most read books in the Bible. And don’t overlook his three letters, though most people do. They are 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.
Grow in your understanding of Jesus and his church from these amazing books from the adored Dear Theophilus Bible Study Series—books 6, 8, and 9—in this special three-book boxset:
Now, for the first time, these three books are bundled together in this extraordinary e-book boxset, The Apostle John.
Lifetime student of the Bible and founder of the website ABibleADay.com, Peter DeHaan begins by digging deep into the beloved Gospel of John to unearth 40 thought-provoking gems that can inform your beliefs and transform your life.
Then build on that foundation by exploring 40 more jewels from the books of 1, 2, and 3 John. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments of all time: To love God and love others.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in these oft-overlooked books, hidden toward the end of the Bible.
And wrap up your exploration of important biblical texts with a 40-day look at the book of Revelation, one of the most intriguing books in the Bible.
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In The Apostle John boxset, you’ll encounter eye-opening surprises from passages you thought were familiar, as well as ones that once confounded you. Find fresh truths as you gain a broader appreciation of the Apostle John’s writing.
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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.
