A commonality among most who call themselves Christian is the understanding of God as Trinity—the Holy Trinity— that is, a singular entity existing as three persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Spirit. That is confusing, but recall that Jesus said, “I and my Father are one,” (John 10:30).
Two common illustrations explain God as Trinity:
God Is Like Water
Water exists in three forms: ice, liquid, and vapor.
Each form is still water, albeit a different manifestation of it. Each form has different characteristics, but is still the same compound. So it is with the triune God: three forms, but one God.
God Is Like an Egg
God has also been likened to an egg.
An egg is composed of three main parts: the shell, the white, and the yolk. Collectively, they are an egg. In like manner, a singular God exists as three parts.
God Is Like a Tripod
I’d like to suggest a third image for consideration.
A tripod has three legs. Each leg is part of the tripod; each leg is connected to the tripod; and each leg is essential for the tripod to work.
Remove one leg and the tripod ceases to function. Also, each leg of the tripod is equal; no one leg is more important and no one leg is insignificant.
The Holy Trinity
So it is with God as a tripod. Each leg—Father, Son (Jesus), and Spirit—is connected, essential, and equal. Remove one and our perception of God becomes incomplete. Overemphasize one and our understanding of God gets out of balance.
There may be three parts (legs), but it is still one God (the tripod). The tripod reveals God as Trinity.
May we worship God as a Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
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.
Punishment May Await Us If We Fail to Listen to God
Isaiah wraps up his lengthy prophecy talking about judgment. He prophesies that God has destined the people for death. That they will be slaughtered. There will be consequences.
Why would a loving God want to kill his people? Through the mouth of Isaiah, God explains why. He says that when he calls his people, they don’t answer.
It would be like you and me passing each other on a path. You say, “Hi,” but I ignore you. That would be rude. It would disrespect you. And that’s exactly what God’s people do to him. They’re rude and disrespectful.
And to make sure we don’t miss his point, God rephrases it. He adds that when he speaks, his people don’t listen, either.
That would be like you telling me, “Wait! Don’t step into the road.” But I ignore you, walk into traffic, and blam! A car hits me.
So it is with God’s people. He tries to warn them, but they don’t listen.
Our Actions Have Consequences
Instead of answering, instead of listening, they do the exact things that God says are evil. They intentionally do what displeases him. That’s premeditated disobedience.
They may figure they’re free to ignore what God says because they don’t think it matters or because they assume there will be no consequences. At least they haven’t seen any consequences for a long time.
But God’s patience is at its breaking point. He says, “Enough is enough; your time is up. You ignored me and disrespected me long enough. You’re about to enter the punishment phase,” all because they didn’t listen to God.
We may have a similar view of God, perhaps not directly but indirectly. We may choose to ignore God because we think it doesn’t matter, that we’ll still get into heaven.
We may assume there will be no consequences because we haven’t seen any yet. However, just because God loves us and will forgive us doesn’t mean our wrong actions won’t have negative outcomes.
When God calls, we better answer. When God speaks, we better listen.
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.
Jesus Expects Us to Help Those in Need, But Are We?
In Jesus’s engaging teaching that we call the Sermon on the Mount, he talks about giving to those in need. He says, “When you give . . . ” He doesn’t say, “If you give . . .” (Matthew 6:2–4). It’s clear that Jesus expects us to give to those in need. But how can we best help others?
The Need Is Huge
The vast need all around me overwhelmed me; it paralyzed me to inaction. I thought that if I helped anyone, I would have to help everyone. This is impossible. To deal with this insurmountable task, I took the simple path. I decided I would give money to the church—letting them use it where it was most needed—and not give to anyone else.
It was a cowardly decision that I regret.
Doing this allowed me to smugly say no to every request because I was already giving to God’s church instead. What convicted me, however, was a look at the church’s budget. About 95 percent of all the money they received went to pay salaries and building expenses. That left 5 percent for everything else.
This church did little, if anything, to help those in need. The budget at every church I’ve looked at has a similar ratio. In fact, too many churches focus all their budget on internal issues and have nothing left for those in need.
Though my decision to give only to the church eased my struggle to know what to give to, it wasn’t the best way to help those with needs. I was ignoring Jesus’s instruction about when you give.
Be Good Stewards
I then began looking for service and para-church organizations that focused on helping those in need. By giving to them, I indirectly help those who struggle. To fine tune my search and not let the plethora of worthy options overwhelm me, I looked for areas that aligned with my passions. I identified four categories.
I began giving to these causes, and they soon received all my charitable giving. I follow this plan fully—except for when the Holy Spirit prompts me to make an exception.
Giving to worthy organizations is great, and it makes an impact in our world, be it locally or globally. Yet in most cases the organization stood between me and the recipients. To best follow Jesus’s instructions about when you give, I needed to address the needs that confronted me day-to-day.
Personal Charity
I once worked in a downtown office, where people asking for a handout often confronted me in the parking lot. Regardless of the need they presented, money was the solution they sought. At first, I would tell them, “Sorry, I have no money.” Sometimes this was true, for my wallet would be empty. But most of the time, it was a convenient lie.
Now, determined to stop my dishonest response to these panhandlers, I sought ways to address their underlying need, without directly handing them cash—which most times I suspect would have gone for alcohol or drugs.
I’d buy people meals, purchase bus passes, take them to the grocery store, fill up their car with gas, or give them a ride. Once I even offered to put a man in a hotel room for the night. He declined. Despite his carefully constructed tale of woe, what he really wanted was my money, not my help.
At the Holy Spirit’s direction, I did my best to follow Jesus’s instructions about when you give. In doing this, however, I often ended up making unwise decisions in my attempts to truly help these people. Thankfully, God, in his grace, protected me from my recklessness.
Moving Forward When You Give
I continue to support worthy organizations, strive to be a good steward of God’s blessings, and follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in directly helping others. I desire to make a sincere effort to help these people in their plight without enabling questionable behavior or allowing them to take advantage of my charity.
Yes, I sometimes make mistakes, supporting people or causes that take advantage of my generosity to follow Jesus’s command about when you give. Yet I know the one way to make sure this never happens is to never give. And that’s a mistake I won’t make.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The trendy website of this church gives no indication of their focus or affiliation. In contrast, their Facebook page says they’re charismatic.
Consider these four discussion questions about Church #11:
1. Despite their claim to be charismatic, their service is much like nontraditional evangelical churches.
If your church is to stand out, what are you doing that’s truly different?
2. According to their pastor, many of the people there dropped out of other churches, disillusioned and discouraged. This church became their sanctuary.
What can you do to embrace the disillusioned and discouraged?
3. For the second time in two weeks, there’s no effort to obtain our contact information. I’m not sure if this is good or bad.
Does your church attempt to get contact information from visitors? If so, what do you or should you do with it?
4. Contrary to their self-description as charismatic, there was little in their service to support that claim.
Does your website and social media accurately reflect your church?
Though this church billed itself as charismatic and showed hints of that leaning, they landed on the light side of being Holy Spirit focused.
How does your church represent itself to the public? Does it accurately portray who you are? Or maybe it’s a reflection of what you once were or who you want to become.
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.
After giving us four chapters of historical narrative, Isaiah shifts back to more prophecy. His future-focused look tells us about Jesus and justice.
Though Jesus is God’s Son, as our Savior—the Messiah—he is also God’s servant, who will come to earth in service of Father God to restore us into a right relationship with him.
God chose Jesus to redeem his people, for God delights in him.
Under the power of God’s Spirit, the Messiah will champion justice. This justice isn’t only for the nation of Judah, but it’s for all nations—all people, everyone.
This Savior will not proclaim his message with loud, boisterous words but with gentleness. He will protect the weak and encourage those who struggle.
Jesus
Jesus will faithfully promote justice, never wavering from his mission. Through his followers, both then and now, he will persist until he spreads justice throughout the whole world.
Centuries after Isaiah’s prophecy, when Jesus comes to earth, he will come to heal and to save. Today most people seek Jesus for his saving power, while two thousand years ago people came to him more for his healing power.
Where does justice fit into all this?
Justice
The people in the Old Testament expected that the promised Savior would come as a military leader to rescue them from their oppressors. They assumed he would be an actual king, in the line of King David, ushering in an era of justice.
They believed that at his arrival, the Jews would finally receive fair treatment meted out by a morally righteous leader.
He would be true in all he does, governing his people with excellence and protecting them from the immoral oppression of ungodly leaders from opposing nations.
Most of us don’t see Jesus today as a physical Savior but as a spiritual Savior. However, throughout the world, many people struggle under the weight of oppressive regimes.
They need physical deliverance. They seek the Savior who will provide them with justice.
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.
Aligning with Like-Minded Peers Can Propel You Forward on Your Christian Walk
A mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring alliance where members work together to help one another solve problems, overcome roadblocks, and move forward. I’m part of two author mastermind groups. In them we encourage and support each other as writers, propelling us forward in our craft. It’s most beneficial.
I wonder if I should apply this concept to my Christian journey, too, and be part of a Christian mastermind group. Though I’ve experienced this a couple times on a basic level from a church small group or Bible study, they’ve fallen short of what a mastermind group can provide.
Though we might want to call it by something with a less business-sounding name, what can we hope to gain from a spiritual mastermind group?
Iron Sharpens Iron
In Proverbs, King Solomon says that “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17, NIV). As we surround ourselves with like-minded followers of Jesus, we will help each other become stronger in our faith. A spiritual mastermind group can do this for us, propelling us forward on our faith journey.
Two Is Better Than One
A parallel passage, also penned by King Solomon, reminds us that “two are better than one.” If either falls, there’s someone present to pick them up (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV). We need each other. God didn’t create us to be alone (Genesis 2:22).
A Cord of Three Strands
Later, Solomon writes that a three-stranded cord has great strength (Ecclesiastes 4:12). There is safety and strength in numbers. One way to realize this is through a spiritual mastermind group.
Party of Five
We also find support for this concept from motivational speaker Jim Rohn, who says “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” What better way to accomplish this by spending time with five like-minded disciples of Jesus in a spiritual mastermind group?
Moving Forward with a Spiritual Mastermind Group
What have you done informally to enjoy these benefits that walking through life with two, three, or five can accomplish? What more could you realize if you pursued this idea with greater intention?
We can receive much benefit by partnering with another or forming a group of three. How greater the outcome could be if we align with five other like-minded Christians to form a spiritual mastermind group?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Today’s church has no website, and their Facebook page only links to their denomination’s website. Without an online presence, their outreach efforts are nil.
Consider these four discussion questions about Church #10:
1. With no online presence, their outreach efforts are nonexistent. Their future lacks promise. Members will die with no one to replace them.
What is your church doing to attract younger people?
2, Their older building has an aged exterior, exacerbated by neglect. Grass grows through the cracks in the parking lot. Inside is more of the same.
They’ve made updates but in a basic, we’re-on-a-tight-budget, way. Regular attendees overlook these issues. Visitors do not.
What steps should your church take to have an inviting facility?
3. Several members introduce themselves. We reciprocate, but no one bothers to engage in conversation.
Beyond introducing yourself, what else can you do to interact with others?
4. A technical glitch leaves their retractable screen in the up position. The planned service relied on video.
The pastor’s message—which I suspect he quickly pulled together—celebrates God as a father to the fatherless. It goes smoothly and no one gripes.
When church services don’t go as planned, how well do you adjust without complaint?
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.
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.
Isaiah’s Shocking Prophecies about the Nation of Egypt
Isaiah often mentions the nation of Egypt in his prophecies. Egypt appears in the book of Isaiah forty-three times. Many, but not all, of these mentions relate to judgment and punishment.
In a surprising passage, Isaiah looks forward to the day when Egypt will openly and intentionally embrace God as their Lord.
In the time between Isaiah’s prophecy and now, I’m not aware of this spiritual turnaround having happened. And it certainly isn’t the situation today. We’re still waiting for this prophecy’s fulfillment.
That means we anticipate a future time when Egypt will turn to God and fear him as their true Lord.
Looking forward, Isaiah sees this coming age when the people of Egypt will erect an altar to God in the heart of their country. In addition, they will place a monument honoring him on their border.
This will serve as a witness to all regarding the Lord Almighty. Egypt will pursue a state-sanctioned embrace of biblical God.
Also, they will worship God with sacrifices, grain offerings, and vows. And they won’t make their promises in haste. Rather, they’ll honor the pledges they make to the Lord God.
How Will This Come to Be?
Isaiah says that Egypt will face a time of oppression. They will call out to God for help. He will send them a savior, a defender, a rescuer.
Though this opposition could come from a foreign power, it could also come from above. Isaiah says that God will strike the Egyptians with the plague.
Remember, he did this before to get their attention. He sent them ten plagues of increasing severity so that Egypt would give God’s enslaved people their freedom. (Read about Moses and Egypt’s plagues in Exodus 6–12.)
In the future, God will send one more plague, which will hit Egypt hard. But then he will hear their pleas for help, respond to their agony, and heal them from their affliction. He will save them, defend them, and rescue them.
In this way, he will reveal himself to them. And they will accept him as their Lord.
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Isaiah 18-20 and today’s post is on Isaiah 19:19.]
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.
Most Christians Don’t Let Scripture Get in the Way of What They Believe
I recently shared with some friends that “Most Christians won’t let the Bible get in the way of what they believe.” It’s a shocking statement—one that no doubt offends some—but the attitudes of many people about what the Bible says prove that I am right.
In truth, most people base their beliefs on multiple sources, such as what others teach them, what society thinks, and what the Bible says—usually in that order. (I’m not including those people who just make up their own religion and do whatever seems right to them. They may be sincere about their beliefs, but they are sincerely wrong.)
What Others Teach Them
Many people give a lot of credence to what their ministers and spiritual gurus teach. Though often a worthy source, some are in error. They could lead us astray if we don’t scrutinize what they teach with Scripture (consider Acts 17:11).
As a basic example, most children are taught to bow their head, fold their hands, and close their eyes when they pray. Guess what? I’ve not found that in the Bible. Yet we cling to this practice with religious fervor as if a failure to follow these three basic instructions will render our prayers ineffective. Instead, we should pray like Jesus teaches in the Bible (Matthew 6:5-8).
In a much weightier instance, a common instruction is that we must ask Jesus into our hearts to be saved. Yet I’ve not found this in the Bible either. What Scripture says is to believe in Jesus (Acts 16:31 and many other places).
Yet when our preachers tell us something that’s not in Scripture, we accept their words anyway. Even worse is when these words contradict what’s in the Bible. We believe them and dismiss God’s word. Shame on us.
What Society Thinks
Many people believe that if their life is mostly good, or if they do more good things than bad, then God will welcome them into heaven when they die. Not so fast. The Bible says that in this rule-based approach, one mistake condemns us (James 2:10).
Or what about, “God helps them who helps themselves.” Often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, and reinforced by pop-culture, the original source is not the Bible. It may sound spiritual, but it lacks a biblical foundation.
Another common view is that God and Satan are equals, battling each other as evenly matched contenders in the fight of good versus evil. Not true. Satan is a fallen angel. God created angels, just as he created us. The creator is greater than the created. Therefore, God is greater than Satan. Consider Romans 16:20. In the end, God wins (Revelation 12:7–10).
What the Bible Says
We’ve already covered that the Bible says to believe in Jesus and be saved (Acts 16:31). It’s a perfect place to start. But there’s more.
Consider Jesus’s promise that we will do everything he did and even more (John 14:12). Scripture proclaims it, so I believe it, even though some ministers dismiss it, and society deems it as foolish.
Another promising passage is that when we align our will with his, God hears and answers our prayers. All of them (1 John 5:14-15).
There are hundreds of more examples, of course, but these three are an ideal place to start. Read the Bible to find more.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
