Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

Is God a God of Wrath or Love?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 25, 2013

Reading through the book of Judges, a cycle quickly emerges: the people turn away from God, he sends a leader to rescue them, and then they return to him.

This pattern continues, albeit to a lesser extent, in the books of Kings and Chronicles. With endless patience, God offers them second chances.

This abruptly changes as 2 Chronicles winds down. The people’s rejection of God reaches its zenith, arouses his wrath, and “there was no remedy.” He offers no second chances and no do-overs, only judgment.

Conquerors invade them, killing some people, carrying off others, and leaving a few to subsist in abject poverty. For them, it was “game over.”

Is God a god of wrath or love? Your answer may depend on which part of the Bible you use to form your answer. Old Testament folks may see a God of wrath, while New Testament readers may see a God of love.

Jesus makes the difference, offering a loving solution to Old Testament wrath and providing us with a remedy.

[2 Chronicles 36:16, 2 Chronicles 36:17-21 and John 3:16]

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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Tags God is love, God’s anger

Christian Living

I’m Glad I Missed the Sermon

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 21, 2013

Last Sunday I only made it halfway through the church service. I completely missed the sermon—and it was the best church experience I’ve had in a long, long time.

That’s not to imply I didn’t like the speaker (I do) or that his words lacked substance (my bride gave me a recap, so I know it was good), it’s just that I ended up doing something far better.

Unplanned and unexpected, I spent that time in our church’s prayer room.

I sat with a stranger as she cried incoherent tears, then listening while she shared her anguish, and finally praying for her and giving her a father’s blessing—one she will not likely receive from her own dad but deeply desires to hear.

The service ended, but our time together didn’t. As most people left, we remained. Thirty minutes after the scheduled end to the official church service, we finally stood to leave, my heart breaking for her, but not nearly as much as our heavenly father’s.

I’m neither counselor or clergy. I lack the training to handle things like this. I had no idea what to do, but the Holy Spirit set all this in motion and then whispered instructions each step of the way.

His directions didn’t arrive all at once, but one at a time.

Listen, do, and then wait for his next prompt to arrive—at just the right time.

I wonder how often we miss the best church can offer because we’re content to receive something good. Bound by schedule and status quo, we place song and sermon above hurting people who need someone to listen and pray.

I helped someone last Sunday—and that’s what church should be.

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Tags church, good sermon, pray

Bible Insights

It’s Not My Fault

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 18, 2013

We live in a society of blame. People shun taking responsibility for their mistakes and shortcomings.

Instead they blame someone else: “It’s how I was raised,” “He talked me into it,” “It’s her fault not mine,” “If only I had a better education,” “I had no choice,” and so forth.

In doing so, they fail to take responsibility for their own actions. They attempt to pass their error onto someone or something else and thereby avoid God’s censure for their sin.

In God’s perspective, that’s not how things work. Each person is responsible for the things he or she does. Through Moses, God said that each person would die for his or her sin, not the parents but them.

Fortunately, Jesus offers a different solution: Saving people from their sin.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 16-18, Matthew 1-4, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 24:16 and Matthew 1:21]

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Tags blame, Jesus, sin

Christian Living

Leave a Legacy

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 14, 2013

A legacy is something handed down from a predecessor. Yesterday in my blog about writing I shared ideas for leaving a legacy through words.

Even more important is leaving a spiritual legacy, of making a godly impression on people today and generations tomorrow. This starts at home, with family, and extends to friends, rippling out to other places and times.

Train Our Children

Through our words, actions, and priorities, we show our children what’s important to us. They’ll learn what we teach, so we need to teach the right things in the best possible way.

Moses offered wise advice, doing this “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up,” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).

Pray For Others

Jesus valued prayer, making it the primary component of all he did. We should do the same, praying not only for ourselves but also for others. Prayers can have a lasting impact, even an eternal one.

Support the Best Causes

There are many good causes with noble intents, yet with limited resources, we must choose the best areas to invest our time and money.

When done well, our impact can be significant, resulting in changed lives now and building the means to do so later.

In additional, how and where we use our time and invest our funds speaks loudly about our priorities, so our choices provide an example for others to follow.

Leave a Testament

A friend recently shared that today’s culture has forgotten the “testament” part of “last will and testament.”

Originally intended as written direction for a person’s family upon his or her death, it provided a means to leave final instructions.

Although wise to begin sharing our testament while alive, preparing a last testament could have a continuing impact on our family’s future.

Let’s first make sure we leave a spiritual legacy and then strive to make it a great one: lasting and significant.

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Tags children, pray

Bible Insights

Jesus is God’s Child and So Are We

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 11, 2013

The Bible says that Jesus is God’s one and only son.

However, God also calls the church his children. How can we be God’s children if he has only one son?

Although the Bible is full of paradoxes—which are hard for modern people to accept but not so difficult for post-modern people and certainly not an issue for ancient people—I don’t think this is one of them.

Another truth may explain this seeming contradiction. One metaphor in understanding our relationship with God is that of a bride and groom, with Jesus being the groom and the church being the bride.

Therefore, by virtue of this union, Jesus, the only son of God, brings the church into his family through marriage, thereby making us, the church, become children of God.

This is just a thought, but it’s an interesting one.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 John 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 John 3:1.]

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Tags church, Jesus, paradox

Christian Living

Another Way to Worship God

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 7, 2013

For the past few days I’ve helped on a home improvement project. I’ve urged my body forward, performing physical tasks long ago forgotten.

There’s an ache that permeates my muscles and reaches into my joints. But it’s a good ache; it’s an ache of accomplishment.

When God completed his creation, he said, “It is good.” When our remodeling project is finished, we will likewise take a step back to survey the results and say, “It is good.”

I think that will please our creator who will receive our work as an act of worship.

The opposite of work is idleness: watching too much TV, playing too many games, persisting in meaningless conversation, and sleeping when we don’t need it—wasting the time God gave us and squandering what he intended us to be.

Though we need rest and to guard against busyness, we also need to avoid the opposite.

God made us to do things: to work and to create. When we do as he intended, we sense fulfillment.

When we do so for his honor, we worship him. Then we rest.

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Tags creation, Sabbath rest, worship

Bible Insights

Thoughts on July Fourth and Freedom

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 4, 2013

Today is the fourth of July. Everywhere in the world, it’s the fourth of July.

However, in the United States it’s a special one, it’s the Fourth of July, a national holiday, officially known as Independence Day: the day we celebrate our freedom as a country.

Freedom is important to Jesus, too. Once, when teaching at the synagogue, he read from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah proclaims freedom for the captives, the nation of Israel (Isaiah 61:1).

Jesus reads that text and says he fulfills it (Luke 4:16-20). But the captives he proclaims freedom to is not just Israel but everyone, including you and me.

Though it took a war for the United States to find freedom, freedom through Jesus is much easier, we just need to believe and follow him.

That’s real freedom!

Read more about the book of Isaiah in For Unto Us: 40 Prophetic Insights About Jesus, Justice, and Gentiles from the Prophet Isaiah available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more about the book of Luke in That You May Know: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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

Tags holiday

Christian Living

What Do You Expect?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 2, 2013

I generally expect things to work out—except when I’m traveling. Experience has conditioned me to expect the worst when I leave home.

I expect the airplane will be overbooked, the schedule delayed, or the flight cancelled. All these things have happened to me.

At the hotel, I expect they won’t have a room, will dismiss my confirmation number as meaningless, suggest I share a room with someone else, or direct me to a different hotel. All these things have happened to me, too.

When booking a recent trip, the travel site delighted me by offering a package rate for my airline and hotel. The deal was so good I almost felt guilty. I grabbed their offer but expected things wouldn’t work out.

The first sign of trouble came when checking into the hotel. The desk clerk’s easy banter soon gave way to concentration as he typed futilely on his keyboard.

Finally he called someone, talking in subdued tones about room availability. I overheard just enough to know there was a problem.

“I’m sorry, but we’re all out of the rooms you paid for.” I held my breath, expecting the worst. “So we’ll upgrade you to a suite.” This seemed like good news, but his tone suggested otherwise.

Was “upgrade to a suite” a euphemism for “we’ll stick you in a crappy room because we’re going to lose money on your package deal?”

I thanked him for the “upgrade” while wondering what “upgrade” really meant. At least I had a room. I trod down corridors of nondescript doors that surely opened to ordinary rooms.

These were not my destination. What awaited me?

Then the hallway widened. Spotlights revealed a walkup, double door entrance to a special place, one displaying my room number. I checked and double-checked.

Still unconvinced, I tried the keycard. It didn’t work. Figures. I tried the second key and on the third try, the green light flashed.

I opened the doors to a grand sight, spacious and sophisticated, something I’d only seen in movies. It took some exploring, but eventually I found the bedroom.

The whole place was bigger than our first house, elegantly furnished, boasting two bathrooms, three TVs, and a baby grand piano.

This was certainly not what I expected.

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Tags personal, travel

Christian Living

Let’s Say a Quick Prayer

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 30, 2013

The speaker’s words were both, familiar and shocking: “Let’s say a quick prayer.” The familiar part came from hearing this many times before and even saying it myself.

The shocking part came from realizing how disrespectful this is to God and how sad he must feel when his kids can only find time for a quick prayer.

Like any good parent, God yearns to connect with his children. He wants to hear how things are going, what’s on our mind, and how he can help.

Even though he already knows these things, he wants us to tell him, he desires to hear us say the words. Quick is not what he longs for.

Usually one of two situations prompts these words. The first is when there’s much to do and not enough time, so we squeeze in an obligatory prayer as a prelude.

The other is due to a lack of planning or priority, when self-focus consumes all time, leaving but seconds for God-focus before parting company.

True, there are times to breathe a fast prayer: in the split second timing separating an accident from a near miss, the unexpected opportunity for a make-or-break meeting, or when we must say something, but nothing comes to mind.

Sometimes those prayers are simply, “God, help!”

However, there’s usually no good reason for a quick prayer.

We’re lazy or tired or don’t respect God enough. We take him for granted or feel we don’t need to invest in our relationship. We promise to make time tomorrow, but the next day carries its own distractions.

How long would we maintain a friendship if that friend only ever had time for a quick conversation? Fortunately God is more patient and forgiving than we, but he still deserves more.

Let’s pray.

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Tags prayer

Peter DeHaan News

News Release: Byline Blog Enjoys New Look On WordPress Platform

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 28, 2013

Peter DeHaan’s Writing Blog Facilitates Reader Interaction and Fosters Better Connections

Mattawan, Michigan, Jun 28, 2013—Peter DeHaan’s writing blog, Byline, celebrates thirty months of posts and reader comments with a fresh façade, supported by a robust platform.

Powered by WordPress, the leading blogging platform, the revised Byline blog is greatly improved, with a clean, new format to make reading easier.

The blog features a more robust delivery of posts via email or RSS feed. Readers can make comments with one-click simplicity, avoiding frustrating Captcha codes to decipher. With an archive of 150 posts, Peter adds new content each Saturday.

“The old blogging platform was not being updated anymore,” stated Peter DeHaan, the blog’s chief writer. “WordPress presented an ideal solution, offering a familiar structure and providing many features to benefit readers.

I’m excited with its present capabilities and the future opportunities it provides. I enjoy connecting and interacting with blog readers; already the new Byline blog is nicely meeting that need.”

Read, comment, and follow Peter DeHaan’s Byline blog.

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Tags author Peter DeHaan, writing