Category: Christian Living

Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.

Celebrating the Apocrypha

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 2, 2014

The Apocrypha is a group of Old Testament books that are not in all versions of the Bible, such as the modern Protestant and Hebrew Bibles.

They are, however, part of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox versions of the Bible.

Since much of Christianity deems these writings as holy and inspired, I think it’s worthy to consider them. These books are:

Tobit
Judith
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Wisdom
Sirach
Baruch
Supplemental passages for Daniel and Esther.

I understand the Apocrypha books were part of the original King James translation of the Bible, but they were later deleted.

Furthermore, the Apocrypha was part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was in use during Jesus’ time.

So, why were these books expunged from the Bible? The justification is that since they aren’t in the Hebrew Bible and there are no versions of them written in Hebrew, they were removed.

I think that was a bad call. These books contain some epic stories and can add flavor and depth to our understanding of God. We should embrace them rather than reject them.

(Read the Apocrypha books in The New Jerusalem Bible or New American Bible.)

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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Tags Apocrypha, Maccabees, Roman Catholic

Christian Living

It’s Time to Check Your Credit Reports

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 28, 2014

Check your credit report each year for errors and fraudulent activity

The major credit card data breach that occurred in December is still making news, with more than 100 million people possibly affected.

With the heightened attention to the vulnerability of financial data, it’s a good reminder to periodically check our credit reports for errors and fraudulent activity.

Errors can lower our credit score, which might result in less favorable terms or being denied credit, while fraudulent activity can indicate identity theft.

There are three credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Every company that accesses a person’s credit information uses one of the three.

It’s critical to check each one, as they often contain different information. You can check your credit report once a year for free or anytime someone denies you credit.

To make it easy, the starting point to check all three is Annual Credit Report.

While it’s tempting to look at all three at the same time each year, a wiser solution is to check one of the three every four months, sequencing between the bureaus. This means we can catch and fix potential problems much sooner.

Married couples need to check both names, as each spouse has a separate credit file. This results in six files to check annually (three for each person). To be extra diligent, check one of the six reports every two months. That’s what I do.

The first time I checked our credit reports, I found a mortgage reported as outstanding even though we paid it off twenty years prior, several credit cards we had closed but still showed open, an address we never lived at, and even an incorrect alias for my wife.

It took a lot of effort over several months to correct all the errors, but I’m glad we did. Now all I need to do is check on a regular basis to make sure no new errors creep in.

Now, after that initial check and correction of errors, it doesn’t take me much time to recheck each year, yet it still seems like a hassle.

However, dealing with denied credit or identity theft after it’s been brewing for a while would be a much bigger hassle.

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Tags money

Christian Living

How Does God Speak?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 26, 2014

In the post How to Hear from God I shared the five steps I followed when I first learned how to hear from God.

This affirmed some people, encouraged a few more, and frustrated others. I won’t assert that hearing from God is normative or required.

Doing so would only cause division in the church that Jesus started—and we already have way too much disagreement. What I will say is many people who don’t think they hear from God, actually, do. (If that’s you, carefully consider #4).

Here are some ways people hear from God:

Audible Words

I’ve not experienced this. I know only a few who have, and if they did, it’s not often or only happened once. God can speak in audible words, just as he did in the Bible. (See “God Speaks Through Audible Words.”)

Inaudible Words

These are words implanted in our minds by God. This is my primary experience (followed by the next two items). Sometimes it’s instructions to do something, in other instances it’s words to say, and it can be private communication.

This happens in the Bible as well. (See “God Speaks Through Inaudible Words.”)

Visions

God can communicate to us through images and scenes. It may happen in our waking hours or when asleep. Sometimes these vignettes carry obvious meaning and other times their vague or obscure nature requires interpretation.

The writings of Daniel, Ezekiel, and John all exemplify this. (See “God Speaks Through Visions.”)

Feelings

God can also direct us through our thoughts, a kind of a sixth sense, a knowing. People may say, “I just felt I needed to do this.” Other verbs that uncover this type of godly communication include: prompted, urged, and compelled.

People may say, “I can’t explain it, but it simply seemed like the right thing” or “I somehow knew what to say.” Examples of this are also in the Bible.

Many people experience this type of awareness, but they may not even know God is behind it.

In all cases, we need to exercise caution.

First, not all supernatural communication comes from God; be discerning.

Second, use the Bible as a benchmark to guide and clarify.

Third, seek the counsel of other godly people to confirm or refute any unclear communication.

One way or another, God can speak to us. For some, this is often; for others, infrequent. But when he does communicate, let’s make sure we’re ready to listen.

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Tags hear God, supernatural

Christian Living

How to Hear from God

For most of my life I was taught that God speaks to us through the Bible, and we speak to him through prayer. Together, these two one-way communication channels can result in a dialogue of sorts.

While this is correct, it’s only part of the story.

I more recently learned that God can also speak directly to us. This may be in the form of audible words—not that I’ve personally experienced them—God’s voice is more often unmistakable words planted into our minds.

When I asked a trusted friend for help, he gave me this advice.

Block out a half hour to an hour.
Remove all distractions.
Have a pen and pad of paper ready.
Ask God a question and write it on the top of the page.
Write down everything that comes to mind.

I followed these five steps, and after thirty minutes I had several pages of notes and clarity on my question. What I didn’t have clarity on was if this insight was my own, came from God, or was a combination of the two.

A few weeks later, I tried again. After quieting my own thoughts and shoving them aside, this time I’m quite sure God spoke to me. His words came quicker and the session was shorter.

After a few more attempts, I learned what God’s voice is like and how to distinguish his from mine.

Now I regularly talk with God this way, sometimes as a part of prayers or Bible reading, but most often not. We cover everything from major decisions to the trivial.

This is, no doubt, hard to comprehend to those who have never done this or been taught it. Me sharing my experience will certainly not convince anyone, but your own experience can. Give these five steps a sincere effort.

It may take a while, require patience, or necessitate some trial and error. But stick with it and you will one day hear from God.

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Tags doubt, hear God, trust

Christian Living

Notable Women in the Bible

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 12, 2014

Two weeks ago I encouraged you to have a Bible reading plan for the new year—and I felt a bit guilty for saying it. This wasn’t because I gave bad advice, but because I hadn’t yet figured out my own plan.

I try to never tell someone to do something that I won’t or don’t do myself. Yet I ran the risk of doing just that.

Each day I had asked God what my Bible reading should entail for next year and each day he was silent—or more likely I wasn’t listening close enough. Despite hearing nothing, I was confident I’d have my plan prior to January 1.

Yet when I picked up my Bible on the first day of the new year, I still didn’t know what I was supposed to read.

So, I asked God, “New Testament or Old?”

He said “Old.”

Then I started listing the different sections: The Law of Moses, the historic books, the poetic books, the prophets. For each group, he said, “No.”

Then two specific books came to mind; I think it was God’s prompting. I asked, “Ruth or Esther?”

I heard, “Yes.”

Again I asked, “Ruth or Esther?”

Nothing.

Then the Holy Spirit began to clarify. My reading is to focus on the notable women in the Bible—and I’m delighted to do so. “Thank you, Jesus!”

So, I’ve already read Ruth and am on my second pass through Esther.

Other names that come to mind are Deborah (the judge), Hannah (Samuel’s mom), Sarah (Abraham’s wife), Naomi (Ruth’s mother-in-law), Rebekah (Isaac’s wife), Rachel (one of Jacob’s wives), and Abigail (one of David’s wives).

Then are the four women in the Bible honored by name in the family tree of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba, along with Ruth. There are also some not mentioned by name, such as Naaman’s servant girl and Jephthah’s daughter.

In the New Testament there is Mary (mother of Jesus), Mary Magdalene (from whom Jesus cast out demons), Anna (the woman in the temple who awaited Jesus’ birth), and Priscilla (wife of Aquila and friend of Paul).

Since I want to look at those with positive traits, I’ve not included Jezebel or Sapphira. What about Leah and Eve?

This is just a start. Who else should I add to my list of women in the Bible?

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

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

Tags Esther, Mary, Mary Magdalene, read the Bible, Ruth, Women of the Bible

Christian Living

Accidental or Intentional Christianity?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 5, 2014

A guy who ponders deep theological thoughts recently shared two concepts with me: intentional Protestantism and accidental Protestantism.

Both relate to the Reformation of the Christian church, some five hundred years ago. What about accidental Christianity or intentional Christianity?

Back then, a group of people saw problems in the church and broke from it, forming something new; they became Protestant by intention.

The other group desired to foment change from within the church, but when that didn’t happen, they became Protestant by accident. (Later the Catholic Church did indeed make most of these needed changes, but it took a few more years.)

What if there was no intentional effort to break away? What if the other group had been successful at reforming the church from within? Then, today Christianity would look much different and we would be more unified, just as Jesus wanted.

Now, take this concept back two thousand years. For a time, the early followers of Jesus existed within the Jewish church of the day.

They were emerging as a sect of Judaism, potentially a third element, along with the Pharisees and Sadducees (two groups who didn’t agree on much but found a way to mostly coexist anyway).

Some of Jesus’ first followers wanted to remain within the Jewish culture but became accidental Christians, while others were intentional Christians.

What if Christianity didn’t form that way? What if Jesus’ followers found a way to coexist within Judaism? The thought intrigues me. I already feel an affinity for our Jewish forebears, and this would connect us even more.

We all do serve the same God, so would it really matter? Of course, this is all hypothetical, but I think God would be okay with it.

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

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Tags Christianity, Jewish, Pharisee, Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholic, Sadducee

Christian Living

Read the Bible in a Year

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 29, 2013

Get your free Bible reading plans today: Read the Bible This Year.

Last year, my church encouraged us to read the entire Bible as a congregation. I’m pleased to report that not only did I complete that goal, but I also finished early.

I celebrate my accomplishment and all that I learned about God in the process, but I’m also glad to put the task behind me.

Reading three or four chapters a day is simply a faster pace than I presently enjoy. Not that this was always the case.

I was a teenager the first time I read the entire Bible. By spending an hour a day, I read straight through from Genesis to Revelation in two and a half months during summer break.

This did much to help me see the Bible as a whole and not in disparate parts. I also saw the story arc from Adam to John, or more correctly, from creation in Genesis 1 and 2 to re-creation in Revelation 21 and 22.

Annual Bible Reading Goals

For many years since that time, I set an annual goal to read the entire Bible (which takes about 12 to 15 minutes a day). A few times, my annual plan was to read just the Old Testament (about 10 to 12 minutes a day).

Most years, however, I read through the New Testament (about 3 to 4 minutes a day – unless you want to take time to study and ponder the text).

Lately, my plan for the year has been to read through the Psalms on Sundays and focus on specific books or genres during the week. Yes, I take a break on Saturdays.

This is a rhythm that works best for me, and I’m excited to reclaim it for next year.

The point in sharing this is to encourage you to set a Bible reading goal for next year. The quantity isn’t the point but habitually directing our attention to God is.

Consider These Bible Reading Plans

Read the New Testament in a year.
Read the Old Testament in a year
Read the entire Bible in a year.
If these are too big a bite for you to take, start small with a monthly reading plan.

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

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Tags Bible reading plans, read the Bible

Christian Living

The Purpose of Christmas

For people who follow Jesus, Christmas is a time to celebrate his birth. Yet Christmas is under attack. Some want to turn it into Xmas, others try to band its mention, and others say it doesn’t matter because we’ve already sufficiently removed Jesus from it.

The reaction from Christ-followers is understandable, but the battle is already lost. Consider our Christmas traditions.

How many of them connect with biblical Jesus? Not twinkle lights, mistletoe, garland, snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer, crackling fires, or hot chocolate.

Not sending cards, decorating trees, drinking eggnog, lighting candles, ringing bells, eating ham, stuffing stockings, baking cookies, or wrapping presents.

Even the date is off base; it’s highly unlikely Jesus was born in the winter, but a time of year when traveling for the census made more sense.

True, some of these traditions do hold meaning, but the sentiment is manmade, not Bible-based. How we celebrate Christmas has little connection with his birth.

Here are the only things I could come up with that actually seem to focus on Jesus:

A Nativity Scene

A manger scene is a fine reminder to that earlier time and the real reason for the season.

A Tree Topper

An angel or star atop the tree reminds us of the angels announcing his arrival and the star the magi saw. But nothing else on the tree, not even the tree itself, connects directly with Jesus.

Christmas Carols

Though the list grows smaller each year, some of the Christmas songs we sing actually mention Jesus’ birth.

Gifts

What about gifts? The magi gave gifts to Jesus, not other people. To follow their example means giving gifts to God, not family and friends. Or what about the “gift” of Jesus?

The real gift was not Jesus’ birth but his victory over death. That would be Easter, another holiday we must fight to protect.

Before you call me Scrooge or Grinch, let me assure you, I am not. I love Christmas because I love Jesus. My goal is for us to refocus Christmas on what truly connects with Jesus and make all other things secondary.

A Birthday Cake for Jesus

Several years ago, my wife began a practice of making a birthday cake for Jesus. We even sing “Happy Birthday”; some years there are candles.

This may seem corny, but it does actually force us, if even for a moment, to focus on the birth of Jesus—and that’s the purpose of Christmas.

Happy birthday, Jesus!

Celebrate Christmas in a fresh way with The Advent of Jesus. It’s a forty-day devotional that prepares our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in an engaging read. Begin your Advent journey now and gain a greater sense of wonder for the season.

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

Tags Christmas, holiday, magi

Christian Living

Praying for Future Generations

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 22, 2013
4 Comments on Praying for Future Generations

Pray it Forward

For my first ten years as a parent, I struggled to pray for my children. Oh, I did pray for them but not regularly, not every day.

This changed when someone gave me a list of twenty-three traits to pray for my children. The items included that they would fall in love with God’s word, have a heart for missions, love others, for their future spouse, and so forth.

Each morning I’d ask God to instill in them one of the characteristics on the list. After twenty-three days, I’d start over.

Just when the list started becoming routine, I bought a prayer card that provided thirty-one items, mostly different from the first list.

For the past twenty years I’ve switched between these two resources, each day asking God to instill in my children one of the traits on the list.

But I didn’t just pray for my kids.

The first additions to the list were their friends. Not only did I desire God-honoring children, but I also wanted them in the company of godly friends.

In later years, I likewise prayed for those they dated, and then college roommates, and finally their spouses.

With my kids’ marriages came the prospect of grandchildren, so I added my future grandkids to my daily prayers. It wasn’t that I urged God to rush them.

Instead, I prayed that when they did arrive, they, too, would possess these same godly characteristics.

It’s one thing to pray in faith for future grandchildren, but soon God prompted me to expand my vision, to include my future great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren: the next four generations.

While it’s feasible I may one day see my great grandchildren, it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever see my great, great grandkids – at least not in the physical realm.

After my first grandson arrived, God prompted me for even more. Now my prayers are paving the way for the next ten generations. It’s hard to comprehend, but I pray by faith, expectant for amazing results.

Even more, I suspect that before my life is over, God will tell me to pray beyond the next ten generations.

In addition to praying for my offspring, I’ve also included my niece and nephews, my closest friends, people I mentor, and missionaries I support.

I share my prayer practices with much trepidation. I don’t want to call attention to myself, but I do want to encourage everyone to pray for their children, both those seen and those unseen.

May you pray it forward. Start today.

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Tags future, prayer, youth

Christian Living

The Hornet’s Sting

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 17, 2013

The Hornet’s Sting

I thought my son had left for work, so he surprised me when he bopped into my office. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m all right, but…” He went on to say that hornets stung him as he opened his car door.

He showed me the top of his head to prove the severity of their attack. Their nest, we discovered, hung only inches over where he once stood while getting into his car.

After confirming he was indeed okay, he headed off to work, and I planned what to do. That night as dusk descended, I emptied a can of hornet spray into their nest. They buzzed with anger as the poison killed them.

I felt only slight guilt over destroying an entire hive because of what a couple hornets did. After all, it wasn’t a few insects going rogue but the result of an instinct they all bore. Surely, more attacks would follow if I didn’t take decisive action.

Just like the hornets, the things we do can affect those we are aligned with.

Consider the groups, associations, and classes we are part of. If one member does or says something stupid, everyone who is like them can suffer as a result. We are all guilty by association.

This includes political parties, religions, ethnic groups, races, movements, companies, clubs, churches, schools, and so forth.

On September 11, 2001, nineteen men committed an act of terrorism. As a result, one billion people “like” them were maligned, distrusted, and threatened.

It didn’t matter that these nineteen were radical extremists and not representative of the rest of the group, everyone still suffered.

What about the actions of certain protestors or the antics of militants? Everyone who is part of their cause, whether present or not, becomes viewed through the same lens. S

ociety sees everyone associated with them through negative eyes.

Of course, there’s an upside to this as well. By our positive actions and careful words, we can elevate everyone in our group.

May we all aspire to that goal.

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Tags family