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God as a Vine

Word Picture: Vine

Another word picture to help us better understand God is that he is the vine and we are the branches. We can view God as a vine, as our vine.

In this, God is revealed as the source of nourishment, the giver of life, and the means of support, sustenance, and existence.

For us, as branches, we are completely dependent on him for everything. We can produce fruit only through him. 

Also, just as fruit trees are pruned, so to, we are pruned in order to be more productive. 

Additionally, note that branches that are unproductive are removed. The pruning may be painful, but it is necessary if we are to produce fruit.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 13-15, and today’s post is on John 15:1-6.]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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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Bible Insights

What Can We Do to Help Others?

Discover Ten Reasons Why People Speak Well of Job

Job had everything and he lost it all. He can’t figure out what happened or why God seems so distant. Though enduring hard times, he asserts he has done nothing wrong.

To reinforce this claim of right behavior, he says that everyone who heard of him has good things to say. They commend him.

Here’s why:

1. Job Rescued People Who Asked for Help

When people in trouble ask for our help, how do we react? It’s easy to come to the aid of friends, but what about strangers?

2. Job Aided Orphans

God has a special place in his heart for those without parents. When we help orphans, we benefit them and honor God at the same time.

3. Job Brought Joy to Widows

In addition to orphans, God also wants to make sure widows received care. Though their plight today isn’t as detrimental as it was then, we do need to be intentional to help widows in need.

4. Job Behaved Rightly

Following Job’s example, we can do the right thing every day. It should be part of who we are and how we act. The Bible calls this righteousness.

5. Job Became Eyes for the Blind

We should help those who can’t see. What can we do to make their life a little bit easier?

6. Job Became Feet to Those Who Couldn’t Walk

Likewise, we should assist those who struggle with mobility issues. What can we do to help them?

7. Job Was a Father to Those in Need

To those with unmet needs, we can be like a father—a loving, gracious father—to help them out.

8. Job Pursued Justice

We can pursue justice for the oppressed and help them find relief from their oppressors.

9. Job Opposed Evil

Evil is all around us. Do we ignore it, or do we oppose it?

10. Job Rescued Victims from Evil

When evil exists, victims result. What can we do to rescue victims from their plight?

Moving Forward

This is a long list, an endless amount of need for us to address. Jesus said we’ll always have the poor with us, but that fact isn’t an excuse to ignore them.

Though these needs could overwhelm us, we should do what we can to help those around us. Pick one thing today and pursue it.

What can we do to help someone today?  

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Job 29-32, and today’s post is on Job 29:11-17.]

Discover more about Job in Peter’s book I Hope in Him: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance through the Life of Job. In it, we compare the text of Job to a modern screenplay.

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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Bible Insights

Do You Offer God a Sacrifice of Praise?

Embrace a Different Way to Worship God

The term “sacrifice of praise” is only found in one verse in the Bible. It’s a curious phrase. What does it mean?

Whatever it may refer to, the first thing we see is we are to do it continually. We are to offer a constant sacrifice of praise to God. To do this, we must adopt a wider understanding of praise as more than just singing.

It certainly includes the things we say, as well as the things we don’t say—praising God with words we use as well as the words we keep to ourselves.

This offering of praise could also encompass our attitude as we go about life, even our demeanor.

While sacrifice of praise could include everything we give up—that is, what we sacrifice—for God as an act of adoration, I don’t think that concept ties in with this verse because we can’t continually offer sacrifices.

We can indeed praise God through our sacrificial living and giving, but this isn’t what phrase means.

Let’s look at the Old Testament for insight. Prior to Jesus, animal sacrifices are common—and commanded according to the law of Moses. Those sacrifices must be repeated because their covering is only temporary.

When Jesus comes along to become our sacrifice it is permanent. It doesn’t need to be repeated. It’s once and for all. This means that in the New Testament, the sacrifice of animals is obsolete.

Could it be that a sacrifice of praise replaces it?

May we continually offer our praise as a sweet sacrifice that to God the Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit for their glory.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Hebrews 11-13, and today’s post is on Hebrews 13:15.]

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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Bible Insights

The Book of Job

I once mused that the Song of Songs might be best understood as a screenplay of sorts. Reading and meditating on it as such gave me new insights and a deeper appreciation of this often-overlooked book.

It seems that the book of Job is similar in this regard.

As mostly dialogue, the book of Job could have been an early version of today’s screenplay (movie script) or stage play (theater production).

Roles

In the book of Job, we have eight characters:

  • Job, the protagonist
  • God, Job’s protector and overseer
  • Satan, Job’s antagonist
  • Job’s unsupportive wife, a bit part, albeit a painful one
  • Job’s three “friends:” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, (with friends like these, who needs enemies?)
  • Job’s fourth friend, the initially quiet and then verbose, Elihu.

Job Overview

The book of Job opens with a prologue (chapters 1 and 2) that establishes the setting of the story. And it concludes with an epilogue (chapter 42) that provides for a satisfying ending.

In between is all dialogue, mostly between Job and his four increasingly critical friends.

Aside from a brief ending summation by Job in the epilogue, the last oration is from God.

It’s fitting that God has the final word—and that Job listens.

May we do the same when we read the book of Job.

Discover more about Job in Peter’s book I Hope in Him: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance through the Life of Job. In it, we compare the text of Job to a modern screenplay.

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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Bible Insights

Submit to God and Resist the Devil

James Offers a Solution to Those Who Face Disappointment with Their Life

I like the words of James in the Bible. His concise writing packs a lot of practical teaching into five succinct chapters. In chapter four he opens with a string of negative outcomes that often plague people.

He lists fights, quarrels, envy, covetousness, and the kicker of all disappointments: unanswered prayers. Ouch.

Why do we suffer from such things? The cause is spiritual adultery, of being so friendly with worldly pursuits that we become estranged from God. Double ouch. God wants our full attention, undivided.

What’s the solution? James’s two-part answer, both direct and succinct, says to submit to God and resist the devil. But are these dual initiatives for us to pursue or opposite sides of the same coin?

By submitting to God do we automatically become empowered to resist evil?

Perhaps by turning our back to sin, we effectively submit to God. Yet it matters not if we resist first, submit first, or do both. The main thrust of James’s instruction is to effectively focus our actions on God and turn from worldly pursuits.

Submission is not a popular concept in today’s society. Neither is resisting temptation. With our self-sufficient, do-it-myself mindset, no one wants to acquiesce to another, to defer our desires to another person’s wellbeing.

Yet the Bible teaches us to do just that. James says to submit to God. So does Job (Job 22:21), as well as the wisdom literature (Psalms 81:11 and Proverbs 3:6).

Plus Peter tells us to submit to the elders (1 Peter 5:5), and Paul teaches us to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21) and to authorities (Romans 13:5). And there is more.

How do we do this submitting to God and resisting the devil? James says we need to be close to God, wash our hands (figuratively speaking), purify our hearts, repent (grieve, mourn, and wail), and humbly approach God.

Then he will lift us up.

Implicitly our disagreements will cease, our materialism will end, and we will enjoy answered prayer.

It starts when we submit to God and resist temptation.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is James 4-5, and today’s post is on James 4:1-10.]

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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Bible Insights

Reflections From the Book of Job

Here is a trio of thoughts from the book of Job:

What Job Feared Most Happened to Him

The enemy (that is Satan, the devil) knew Job’s fears and exploited them. Although everyone fears something, we are best advised to turn our fears over to God and not dwell on them.

Job Believed that Through Good Behavior He Deserved God’s Blessings

Things are not any different today. The common belief is that we can earn God’s love and attention. Of course, the converse of that is rejected. People assume that bad behavior should be forgiven, not punished.

The right motivation for good behavior is simply out of respect for God and to honor him, not to earn something in return.

When Job Had Nothing Left to Say, That’s When God Spoke

It is hard for us to listen when we are talking; it is no different in our relationship with God. When you pray do you spend more time talking or listening?

[See Job 3:25, Job 30:25-26, and Job 38:1.]

Discover more about Job in Peter’s book I Hope in Him: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance through the Life of Job. In it, we compare the text of Job to a modern screenplay.

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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Bible Insights

Can You Be a Spiritual Mother to Someone?

Some People Don’t Have Biological Offspring, but Everyone Can Have Spiritual Descendants

Paul wraps up his letter to the church in Rome with a long list of people Most of these names stream past our eyes as unfamiliar. We’re tempted to skim. But slow down.

Consider Rufus (Romans 16:13). That name only appears in one other place in the Bible, and that likely refers to a different guy. So we know little about this Rufus except that Paul greets him by name.

Paul shares no reason, offers no encouragement, and gives no backstory—other than to say Rufus is chosen by God.

Oh, and there’s Rufus’s mother. Paul doesn’t even give her name, just her role as Rufus’s mom—who has also been like a mom to Paul. This is huge.

Rufus’s mom has a biological son, Rufus. She also has a spiritual son, Paul. She is his spiritual mother.

When you think of mothers, what traits come to mind? I think first of loving. Following that comes nurturing, encouraging, and supportive.

Mothers also hope for the best from their children and always believe in them. And most mothers like to feed their kids too.

I suspect Rufus’s mom is all these things to Paul.

Some women have biological children and others do not, either by choice or by circumstance. The ladies in this last category long to have kids but do not.

The Bible is replete with longsuffering women who pray earnestly and ache to have children. After decades of waiting, God gives them what their heart desires.

Yet whether a biological mom or not, we can all be spiritual mothers. And this includes guys too. If the idea of being a spiritual mother is a bit off-putting to men, consider the label of spiritual father.

Who needs love, nurturing, encouragement, and support? Although the answer is everyone, I’m sure some specific individuals come to mind.

Be a spiritual mother—or father—to them. You never know the impact they might grow up to have on others.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Romans 14-16, and today’s post is on Romans 16:13.]

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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Job’s Conclusion

A common lament of Job throughout the story bearing his name is his begging God to answer his pleas. However, it seems that Job (and his friends) are too busy talking to give God a chance.

When God does respond, Job’s friends are rebuffed, and Job’s righteousness is affirmed.

Now we can read Job’s conclusion to the entire matter.

Job’s brief reply to God’s discourse is humble and contrite. After acknowledging God’s complete knowledge (omniscience) and total power (omnipotence), Job unabashedly admits:

“I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” This is Job’s conclusion to his ordeal. May we follow his example.

With all of our knowledge and assumed understanding of God and his ways, I think that Job’s words are more often an appropriate and accurate posture then for us to assuredly spout our religious opinions (theology) as if they were fact.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Job 40-42, and today’s post is on Job 42:3.]

Discover more about Job in Peter’s book I Hope in Him: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance through the Life of Job. In it, we compare the text of Job to a modern screenplay.

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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Bible Insights

Consider Job’s Daughters

A Refreshing Perspective

At the conclusion of the book of Job, God blesses him even more than before. One of the blessings mentioned is that Job has ten children. Seven are sons and three are daughters. Let’s look into Job’s daughters.

What is interesting is that in an age when sons are revered and daughters are essentially ignored, righteous Job elevates his daughters.

It is Job’s daughters who the Bible mentions by name, not his sons.

Additionally, Job grants his daughters an inheritance, along with their brothers.

This is a counter-cultural move—and one that I think pleases God greatly.

May we do the same.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Job 40-42, and today’s post is on Job 42:13-15.]

Discover more about Job in Peter’s book I Hope in Him: 40 Insights about Moving from Despair to Deliverance through the Life of Job. In it, we compare the text of Job to a modern screenplay.

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, 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.

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Who Are We to Judge? We May Have It Backwards

Though the Bible Tells Us to Judge, Who We’re Supposed to Judge May Shock You

When Paul writes to his friends in Corinth, he has much to say because they struggle with many things, including judging others. He spends a whole chapter in his first letter addressing sin within their assembly: sexual sin, specifically incest.

In reading between the lines, it seems the people involved think God’s grace gives them the freedom to pursue this lifestyle, to live as they wish, while the rest of the church remains quiet on the issue.

Judge Ourselves

Paul is concerned one bad example will infect others and embolden them to go wild as well.

As the saying goes, “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel,” though Paul’s first-century version says a little bit of yeast affects the whole batch of dough.

He tells them how to deal with this issue and the perpetrators. Though he expects them to assess the situation and take action, he places limits on the scope of their role of judging others.

Not Judging Others

Specifically, he says not to worry about those on the outside, that God will deal with them. Instead, they need to worry about the people within their group, that self-policing is in order.

Paul reminds them that they should judge folks within the church but they have no business judging others, the people in the world.

Much of today’s church has this backward. We delight in pointing a condemning finger at the actions of the world, all the while ignoring the behavior within our own community.

It’s no wonder the world thinks the church is comprised of close-minded, judgmental, hypocrites—because it is.

It’s no wonder the world fails to see the love of Jesus, because his followers fail to show the world his love. Instead, they show judgment, mean, hateful judgment.

Though we need to judge ourselves, we have no business judging others in the world in which we live. So stop it.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 5-7, and today’s post is on 1 Corinthians 5:12-13.]

Read more in Peter’s book, Love is Patient (book 7 in the Dear Theophilus series).

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.