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Bible Insights

Avoiding the Way of Cain

avoiD Cain

Cain kills Abel because he is jealous, jealous that his brother’s offering to God is accepted and his isn’t.

God knows what Cain is thinking—and urges caution. God directly tells Cain that he must rule over his sinful thoughts, the temptation to do wrong. But Cain doesn’t heed God’s advice and kills his brother.

The resulting murder may have been an act of rage or merely an extreme way of eliminating the competition. But either way, Abel ends up dead and Cain has blood on his hands.

Thousands of years later, when Jude advises followers of Jesus to avoid “the way of Cain,” he might be referring to murder or perhaps a jealousy that could lead to murder, but I suspect the warning is for something much more subtle.

I think when Jude says we need to avoid the way of Cain, he means we need to control our thoughts and desires to do wrong—a warning we all need to heed.

[Genesis 4:7, Jude 1:11]

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.”
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Peter DeHaan News

Peter DeHaan Attends 2012 Festival of Faith and Writing Conference

Author Peter DeHaan Attends Festival of Faith and Writing Conference

Peter DeHaan attended the recent Festival of Faith and Writing conference held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids Michigan on April 19 through 21. The three-day event was attended by 2,000 from across the United States and around the world; it featured 64 presenters.

At the Festival, attendees were treated to an array of presentations and readings from notable authors, including Lucy Shaw, Shane Claiborne, and scores of other accomplished writers. The event also featured a concert by Bruce Cockburn.

Normally writing non-fiction, DeHaan focused his attention on several presentations about writing memoirs. “I’m currently working on two memoirs,” stated DeHaan.

“Both address my lifelong practice of—and struggle with—church attendance. The sessions I attended will be a huge benefit as I write, helping me to navigate some of the tricky challenges that come with memoir writing.”

DeHaan attended sessions led by memoir writers such as Amy Julia Becker, River Jordan, Jana Reiss, Jennifer Grant, Margot Starbuck, Daniel Taylor, Kate Braestrup, and Paula Hudson.

“The Festival of Faith and Writing is a first-class conference,” DeHaan added, “and the beautiful Calvin College campus is an ideal location.” The biennial event started in 1990, with the next one planned for 2014.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

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.

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Christian Living

How Can We Hear From God?

hear from God

A good friend was all excited. He had something he couldn’t wait to share.

“God revealed something to me,” he announced. “I’ve not yet found it in the Bible, but I know it’s there somewhere.”

I completely missed what God had revealed to him because I was so taken aback contemplating his statement.

I have no doubt he heard from God—and I trust he heard correctly—but his assertion that he would find it in the Bible perplexed me.

Growing up I was taught that God speaks to us through the Bible and we speak to him in prayer. That’s correct, but it’s only part of a greater truth.

God can also speak words to us through his spirit, not in written words, but in oral words, or perhaps whispered words, words he implants into our mind.

Another wise friend told me if what we think we heard from God doesn’t line up with the Bible, then what we thought we heard wasn’t really from him. In addition to scripture, we can also run our revelations by trusted friends and those in authority over us.

If everything lines up, then we can be quite sure we heard from God.

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.”
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​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

Contemplating Cain and His Gift to God

Cain and his gift

The account of Cain is well-known. The Bible records his story as the world’s first murderer. It is out of jealousy—and possibly premeditated—that Cain kills his brother, Abel. But what are the events that lead up to this tragedy?

Cain and Abel each bring an offering to God. Abel’s is accepted but Cain’s isn’t. There is speculation as to why God disses Cain’s gift, but the reason is not recorded for us to know.

What’s disconcerting is wondering if God ever disses our gifts. It’s a shocking thought.

I always assumed God is ecstatic over anything and everything I offer to him, be it money in the offering plate, alms, or acts of kindness offered in his honor.

I liken it to a small child showing Mommy and Daddy the picture he or she just drew. The parents are pleased, praising the child profusely, even though they may be clueless as to what the picture is.

I expect God to act like that whenever I give him something.

But what if he doesn’t? After all, God is sovereign—and almighty. What if he doesn’t look at my offering with favor?

It’s a sobering thought. I certainly don’t want to be giving God a sorry little picture—thinking it is good and that he likes it—when he is expecting and desiring something so much more.

God, may my gifts and offerings be pleasing to you.

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.

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Christian Living

What Does it Mean to Pray Hard?

pray hard

Have you ever had someone ask you to “pray hard?” I have. Often it’s for a pressing personal issue or a distressing situation—and they implore me to “pray hard.”

When they say this, I think I know what they mean—or at least I hope I do. I think “pray hard” means, “This is serious, so don’t take it lightly—and don’t forget!”

However, they could be expressing an understanding of God that might be a bit off. If by “pray hard” they mean, “put forth more effort” or “work hard to get God’s attention,” then they’re implying that our degree of effort affects God’s response.

A similar situation is when a person prays and doesn’t like God’s answer. He or she may say, “I guess I just didn’t pray hard enough.”

I think this perspective puts too much responsibility on us and diminishes God’s character in the process.

Yes, we do need to pray, but I don’t see God expecting us to jump through hoops or devote a certain amount of time before he listens and answers.

Sometimes a prayer may be a short, simple sentence. Other times it may be more lengthy or a mere groan. Sometimes we may pray for a situation just once and other times it may be every day, for weeks, months, or years.

These are all appropriate ways that God may lead us to pray, but to “pray hard” in order to get his attention isn’t one of 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.

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.

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Visiting Churches

Make a Difference Wherever You Go

make a difference

My wife and I are on track to start our “52 Churches” adventure this coming Sunday—look for my first update on Monday.

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

As friends prayed about this, they prayed that we would have a positive impact on each of the 52 churches we visited.

This surprised me.

Though it is generally my goal to make a difference wherever I go, I’d never considered it for the “52 Churches” initiative. I assumed we would merely be observers, taking in and receiving information, but not giving anything in return.

Now that I have had my perspective appropriately adjusted, this adventure has become doubly exciting. I wonder what we will learn—and what we will share.

[Read the next post about 52 Churches.]

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

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.

Categories
Visiting Churches

52 Churches: The Journey Begins

The Journey Begins

For an Entire Year, We Visited a Different Christian Church Every Sunday

Next week, I will begin reposting a thread called “52 Churches.” It reflects on my church experience when my wife and I took a year to visit a different Christian church each week. The journey begins—again.

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

Each week it will be of a different church within the family of Christian creeds—and the project is planned to last for one year, hence the title, “52 Churches.”

My bride will be my willing partner in this experience. And, no, we are not church shopping, looking for that perfect community to join.

Instead, we are looking to broaden our understanding of ways to experience God through a vast array of different faith communities.

While on our tour, I anticipate that we will make new acquaintances and reconnect with old ones. I expect that we will be stretched and occasionally feel uncomfortable.

I suspect that we will squirm at times and applaud at others (be it literally or figuratively), that we will alternately be excited and bored, encouraged and discouraged, inspired and disheartened.

But through it all, I am confident that our comprehension and appreciation for God will grow, as it will for the diverse group of people we will meet along the way.

This promises to be great adventure and I hope that you will follow along with us. The journey begins.

[Read the next post about 52 Churches.]

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

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.

Categories
Christian Living

Have You Had A Desert Experience

Desert Experience

From time to time, I’ve heard people say they’re “in the desert.” They are speaking figuratively, of course, but nevertheless it is a dry place, a barren wilderness, an unhappy situation to be sure.

Their desert experience is not a literal place of residence, but a spiritual condition, a state of being. For them, the desert is an apt metaphor for the angst of their soul.

They can’t wait to get out of the desert and often wonder why God has left them there.

Sometimes their plaint against the almighty is angry or even bitter. Why is he ignoring them?

The desert is also a reoccurring theme in the Bible, but there it is mostly literal.

Many of the biblical characters who find themselves in the desert do so because they are running away from something or someone. They are in the desert by their own doing. Moses was one such individual.

Others find themselves in the desert because they are being punished or need time to learn something. Consider the people of Israel, who had a 40-year timeout because of their disobedience.

A few people are in the desert because they seek solitude and a place to pray without distraction. Jesus would be a prime example. He went there intentionally and left when he was finished.

When we find ourselves in the midst of a desert experience, instead of lamenting our situation, a little introspection might be in order. Perhaps we are in the desert because we are on the run or have been given a timeout.

It’s not God’s fault at all, but our own doing.

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.

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Personal Posts

The Long Term Problems with China’s One-Child Policy

one child policy

In my family, there are a lot of two-children families. My bride and I both came from two-children homes. We have two children ourselves and both of our kids’ spouses hail from two-children families. Plus, my sister has two children.

So my mom has two children and four grandchildren. If the trend continues, she will have eight great-grandchildren.

Contrast this with China’s one-child policy, which has been in place since 1979 (33 years). A child born in China today will be the only child of two parents and the only grandchild of four grandparents.

If the trend continues, he or she will eventually be the only great-grandchild of eight great grandparents. This child will also have no uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, or nephews.

While this may be an effective means to curb population growth, it has two most negative outcomes:

First, a Chinese child will be the only child of two parents and four grandparents. That means that six people are placing their sole generational focus—good or bad—on that lone child.

There will be a tendency to spoil their only child and grandchild.

And there will be tremendous pressure placed on that child to do well, succeed, get married—and have his or her, one child. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one kid.

In addition, all these overly indulged, “only-child” kids, being the center of their family’s attention, will most likely be narcissistic and selfish.

Second, a Chinese child will be the only grandchild to care for four aging grandparents and later the only child to care for two aging parents.

There will be no siblings or cousins to share these duties. That’s a lot of responsibility to place on one child.

In societies with no procreation limits, parents rightly make their own decisions on the number of offspring, be it ten, two, one, or even none.

That is good and right, but when a whole society is forced to limit themselves to one, the ramifications are significant.

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.

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.

Categories
Christian Living

What Do You Think of The Spiritual Realm?

The Spiritual Realm

A friend of mine once startled me by saying, “Sometimes I think the spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm.”

That gave me a start, but I understand what he meant—and yearn to understand it more fully.

It’s been said that “we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body.” That suggests that our body, while temporal, will be outlasted by our spirit.

Implicitly then our spirit is more important than our body and, going to the next step, more real.

While we can only begin to vaguely comprehend the spiritual realm, I do believe it is real—and more real and more important than this tangible, physical realm, which sees me typing these words into my computer, to be posted on a blog, for you to read.

There is a physical realm and a spiritual realm. Right now I am residing in both, though mostly in the physical. One day I expect to transition fully and completely into the spiritual realm.

That is what we commonly call death, but I call eternal life.

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.