Tag: God is love

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Christian Living

Love God and Love Others: A Call to Christian Unity

love god and loves others

Shun Division, Disunity, and Denominations in the Name of Jesus

Just as church member status divides the church body into two groups, so does our doctrine. Instead of obeying Jesus’s instruction to love God and love others, we make a lengthy list of what we should do and shouldn’t do.

We judge others according to our opinions of what’s proper and what’s not. This legalistic approach follows what the Old Testament set in motion with its 613 instructions in the Law of Moses, of things to do and not do.

Compounding the problem, God’s children in the Old Testament added tens of thousands of manmade rules, which evolved over the centuries, to help interpret the original 613 expectations he gave to Moses.

Jesus Says to Love God and Love Others

Jesus says that his yoke is easy in his burden is light. This means his doctrine is simple to follow and effortless to bear (Matthew 11:30).

To confirm this, Jesus simplifies all these Old Testament commands and man-made traditions when he says we are to love God and love others (Luke 10:27).

Yes, Jesus’s essential expectation is love.

To accomplish these two instructions to love God and love others, we can best do so through Jesus. We should follow him (Matthew 4:19 and Luke 14:27), believe in him (John 6:35), and be his disciple (John 8:31 and John 15:8).

These are all ways of saying we need to go all in for Jesus. That’s it.

That’s our essential doctrine. Everything else is secondary. Beyond Jesus and love, we shouldn’t argue about the rest. We are to be one church, just as Jesus prayed we would (John 17:20–21).

Denominational Division

Yet in the last 500 years we’ve argued about doctrine, we’ve judged others by our religious perspectives, and we’ve killed people for their beliefs. We deemed that our view was right and everyone else was wrong. We used this to divide ourselves.

We formed groups of like-minded thinkers, which became denominations.

Today we have 42,000 Protestant denominations, dividing Jesus’s church so much that we’ve lost our witness to the world. Jesus wanted his followers to live in unity.

Yet we persist in division. Our denominations that we made are the antithesis of God’s unity that Jesus wants (Ephesians 4:3–6).

Yes, division occurred in the prior 1,500 years—the first millennia and a half of Jesus’s church—but that was nothing like what’s happened in the last five centuries during the modern era.

Paul says that we are to unite ourselves under Jesus, to be like-minded, of one Spirit and one mind. In our relationships we should have Jesus’s mindset (Philippians 2:1–5).

To Titus, Paul writes to warn a divisive person one time, and give a second notice if they disregard the first. Then the only recourse is to ignore them (Titus 3:10–11).

Jude also warns against division. Instead of taking sides, he tells us to rise above it by focusing on growing our faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and abiding in God’s love (Jude 1:18–23).

As followers of Jesus, we must pursue unity in him and oppose every instance of division—regardless of the source.

Read the next post in this series about things we must change is a discussion about making disciples.

Read more about this in Peter’s new book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, 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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Christian Living

Do You Have a Crisis of Faith?

crisis of faith

Discover 3 Tips of What to Do If Question Your Faith

I hear people who have a crisis of faith, who question what they believe. It pains me to see the struggle they’re going through. Yet I’ve never been sure how to help them, except to encourage them to press forward and not give up. This is because I never questioned my faith.

I have, however, questioned church practices. I’ve done this often for most of my life. And I see a connection between the two.

I Question the Church

I was a young teenager when I got my hands on a New Testament copy of the Living Bible. I poured through it. I read the entire thing. Then I read it again.

When I was fourteen, I devoted my summer vacation to reading the Old and New Testament of the Living Bible. It only took an hour a day, and I had plenty of time.

What I saw in this easy-to-understand version of the Bible bore little similarity to what I saw practiced at church each Sunday morning. Yes, there were common elements, but that was it. Mostly what I saw was a significant disconnect.

That’s when I began to question the church. I became so disillusioned with it, I nearly gave up—at least with the organized, institutional church. To this day, decades later, I’m still disillusioned and remain critical.

Yet I still attend—in hope to one day experience church as it was practiced in the Bible—and as Jesus modeled for his followers.

This lifetime of questioning church occurs throughout my blog posts and in many of my books. And it’s the focus of my book Jesus’s Broken Church.

But what’s the connection with me questioning the church and other people questioning their faith?

Do You Question Your Faith?

A common trait I’ve seen in people who question their beliefs—who face a crisis of faith—is that they’re mad at God because of what they’ve been taught about him, not because of who he is.

Their perception of God is skewed because of preachers and teachers who have misrepresented our Heavenly Father, Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit to them.

These folks teach with passion and conviction, but too often they’re spouting a manmade doctrine that runs counter to biblical truth. If you’re questioning your faith, first take a step back and question what you’ve been taught about God before you get angry at him.

Here are three tips if you find yourself having a crisis of faith:

1. Question What You’ve Been Taught

The first step is to examine your perception of God. Perhaps it’s wrong. For most people it is. Though many hold minor misconceptions, others make assumptions about God that are seriously flawed.

Though in some cases this may be due to their own faulty logic of making God into who they want him to be, usually it’s because others—both trained clergy in untrained peers—have led them astray.

God loves us. This is true.

But this doesn’t mean we won’t have struggles in life. In fact, we will. Jesus says so (John 16:33). The evil one will assault us (John 17:15). We will face persecution (Matthew 5:10-12).

And because God loves us, we will receive his discipline, just as parents lovingly discipline their children so they can grow and mature. So it is with Father God and us, his children (Hebrews 12:5-7).

2. Seek Biblical Truth

Just as I’ve cited these four passages that teach us the truth about God, faith, and living for him, the Bible is packed full of more of these truths.

To learn about God, we need to read the book that teaches us about him.

Don’t rely on what our culture says about God because they don’t know him. They are dangerous guides, just like the many ministers who misrepresent God’s true nature.

The true source for reliable information about God is the Bible. We will do well to read it, study it, and meditate on it. As we do our understanding of who God is and our relationship with him will change—for the better.

3. Ask for Holy Spirit Insight

It’s hard, however, to read and study the Bible in isolation. We can do this with others, with iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). As King Solomon wrote, two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Yet the Holy Spirit is an even better resource to help us understand Scripture. The Holy Spirit is a reliable guide who will teach us (John 14:26). This begins with prayer (James 1:5).

Move Forward

If you find yourself questioning your faith, first question what you’ve been taught about God. Then seek the Bible for real answers, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you and reveal truth to you.

As you reform your understanding of God, you’ll grow closer to him. And you will see your crisis of faith dim. This will take time, but it will be worth the effort.

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

His Love Endures Forever

his love endures forever.

We Should Praise God for the Many Ways He Loves Us

Love is a recurring theme in Scripture (686 verses). It shows up in most every book of the Bible (60 out of 66). The word is most common in Psalms (157 verses). Psalm 136 leads the way with 26 mentions of love, all in the repeating refrain “His love endures forever.”

This Psalm is a song of praise to God. It affirms who he is and what he’s done. In response to each phrase of thanks and appreciation, the singers repeatedly chant, “His love endures forever.”

What are these characteristics of God? Read Psalm 136 to find out all the details. Here’s a summary:

  • God is good.
  • He is God of all gods and Lord of all lords.
  • He does amazing feats.
  • He created everything.
  • He guided his people, protected them, and brought them to his promised land.
  • He remembers us when we’re down, frees us from our enemies, and feeds us when we’re hungry.

And for each one of these, our response is to praise him, for “his love endures forever.” Forever is a long time. It’s eternal. Just as God is eternal—living forever with no beginning or end—so too is his love for us.

Paul says that three things will last forever. These are faith, hope, and love. Of this amazing trio, love stands in first place. Love is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).

John writes that the highest, most excellent, expression of love is to die so another may live (John 15:13). John is quoting Jesus. In this passage, Jesus obliquely references God’s plan to save us.

To do so, Jesus will offer himself as the once-and-for-all, ultimate sacrifice to make payment for the sins (mistakes) of all humanity, for all time. This will reconcile us with Papa.

Jesus died so that we may live. You, me, everyone. That’s true love. His love endures forever.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Psalms 135-139, and today’s post is on Psalms 136:2.]

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

5 Things God Asks of Us

book of Deuteronomy

The book of Deuteronomy offers surprising insights into our relationship with God

The book of Deuteronomy is never high on my reading list. The seemingly endless instructions about the form and format of God’s expectations for his people vex me, especially given that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, and today we live under a New Testament arrangement.

Yet there are surprising truths buried in this stodgy book. We can easily miss these amazing insights if we read too hurriedly—or skip the book altogether.

One such passage presents a succinct summary of what God asks of us:

1. Fear God

Does this mean God wants his people to be afraid of him? No! He wants his people to stand in awe of him, with reverence and respect.

2. Walk with God

God asks us to move in relationship with him, to go where he goes. The word repent (which is found throughout the Bible) implies this. It basically means to change course and follow God (and Jesus).

3. Love God

God wants us to love him. That’s a great start. In the New Testament we see God’s love for us. Though it’s evident in the Old Testament, we can’t miss it in the New Testament.

4. Serve God

If we fear, walk with, and love God, we will spontaneously desire to serve him. Yet to make sure we don’t miss this part of our relationship with God, he spells it out for us.

5. Obey God

The fifth item also flows from those before it: obedience. Though obeying an authority is often dismissed in today’s culture, God is one authority who never disappoints, never falters, and never makes a mistake.

The book of Deuteronomy tells us that God is worthy of us doing the things he asks, starting with this passage: fear, walk, love, serve, and obey.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 10-12, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 10:12-13.]

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.

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Christian Living

May This Year Be Your Best Year Yet

A Church on Every Corner

Celebrating the New Year

Just as I often make a post for Christmas, I do the same for New Year’s Day. These posts usually address making New Year’s resolutions. But instead of resolutions, why not work to make this year your best year yet. With God’s help, you can.

Here are some of my past posts about New Year’s Day. Note the recurring theme on making resolutions—a practice I don’t follow and don’t encourage.

Check out these posts to see why:

Let’s not resolve to make this coming year better. Though we could strive on our own power to make it happen, we can’t ensure the outcome. The future is outside our control.

Yes, we can take steps to best position ourselves to make the most of whatever happens, but that doesn’t guarantee success.

What should we do then, give up and accept fate? Of course not.

We should do what we can now to establish the best possible foundation for our future—and trust God with the rest.

We can ask him to bless us—not because we deserve it or have earned it, but because he loves us. We can pray that he will guide us into making good decisions. We can seek him for strength to replace unhealthy habits with good practices.

When we do that, we’re poised to make this our best year yet. That’s what I’m going to do. It’s my approach every year.

 As we move into the days, weeks, and months ahead, may God bless us, guide us, and keep us safe. May it be our best year ever.

From me to you, I’ll end with this blessing: May you have a happy new year, and may this year be your best year yet.

Amen!

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.

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Bible Insights

What Does Perfect Love Do?

perfect love

Love versus Fear

As we struggle with the paradox of fearing God and loving God, there’s another thought on the subject.

John writes that “perfect love drives out fear.”

Perfect love never fails. Perfect love is love that’s without fault, consistent and always present. God embodies perfect love.

Paul gives us a list of what love is and isn’t. Love is:

  • patient
  • kind
  • not envious
  • not boastful
  • not proud
  • not rude
  • not self-seeking
  • not easily angered
  • forgetting the mistakes of others
  • not delighting in evil
  • rejoicing over truth
  • offering protection
  • trusting
  • hopeful
  • persevering
  • never failing

This is love, perfect love, and it drives away fear.

[1 John 4:18, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8]

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.

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Christian Living

God’s Guardrails Are to Benefit Us and Not Limit Us

Running Barefoot in the Snow

In my book Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide, I tell the story of our children running barefoot in the snow. Here’s what happened.

One day I painfully realized that whenever our children asked for anything, the default answer of my wife and me was no. It mattered not how legitimate their request was; we dismissed it.

Though we would sometimes relent and grant permission, the negotiation that occurred between their question and a positive response was time-consuming and unneeded.

I gathered our two children and apologized for my error. I pledged that going forward I would tell them yes every time I could. I would only say no to keep them safe, keep them healthy, and teach them what was right.

I doubt they believed me. A couple days later they tested my promise. “Dad, can we go outside and run around barefoot in the snow?”

“Yes!”

Incredulous, they kicked off their shoes and socks. They donned their winter coats, hats, and gloves. With unbridled enthusiasm, they dashed outside.

Seconds later they returned exhilarated, overflowing with glee, and with cold feet. It was a memorable experience for all three of us. Going forward, our children heard me say yes much more often.

How Our Heavenly Father Treats Us

I suspect God is a lot like this. He tells us yes whenever he can. The only time he says no is to keep us safe, keep us healthy, and teach us what is right. He tells us no for our own good. It’s how he shows his love for us. And I try to appreciate that, even if it’s not what I want to hear.

But many people have the opposite perspective. They perceive God as mean, restrictive, and grumpy, saying no to all the things they want to do. They think he limits their life and keeps them from having any fun. They push against his restrictions, even though these are for their own good.

God gives us instructions through Scripture and the Holy Spirit. We’ll do well to obey what he says. If we don’t, we risk pursuing what is unsafe, unhealthy, and wrong. And for that, we’ll suffer with the consequences.

Guardrails for Our Life

I view this as his loving attempt to put guardrails on our life, which keep us from plunging over the cliff to our doom. Guardrails keep us on the road and direct us forward.

Yes, we can do whatever we want, and he won’t love us any less. Regardless of our actions—or inactions—our eternal standing with him remains secure.

But, oh, what heartache we endure when we ignore the loving guardrails he has erected for us on our journey through life and elect to do things our own way.

We don’t need to follow the rules he gives us to get his attention or earn our salvation. We can go through life however we please. But we’re so much better off when we do things his way and not our own.

God intends for his rules to keep us safe, keep us healthy, and teach us what is right—not to limit us or be mean.

God sometimes says no because he loves us. May we embrace his directives, follow them, and thank him for them.

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.

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Bible Insights

If God Cares for Every Bird, How Much More Will He Care for Us?

God cares for us

God Cares for the Lesser Things of His Creation and We Are So Much More

In one of Asaph’s Psalms he exalts God for his power, beauty, and perfection. In doing so Asaph envisions what God might say to his people, talking about what is important and what isn’t. God has no need for our animals (possessions), for every creature (everything) is his.

In fact God says that he knows every bird, and that even the insects are his.

God Cares for Birds

Does this idea that God knows every bird sound familiar? Consider what Jesus says in his teaching in what we commonly call “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 6:25-27). He tells us not to worry, that God will take care of us.

Then he reminds us of the birds. Even though birds don’t prepare for the future by planting crops, gathering the harvest, or storing for the future, God feeds them. He takes care of them.

In the non-winter months in Michigan, anytime I look out my window I see all kinds of birds, often more than I can count. Though I know some species, I can’t identify most of them.

While I have trouble identifying various types of birds, God not only knows each species, he also knows each bird within each specie.

Aside from my enjoyment of watching birds, in the overall scope of life, I give little thought to birds. Yet God cares for them.

God Cares for Us

Jesus goes on to say that if his Father will feed the birds how much more will he care for us. As people, we’re the highpoint of his creation. We matter much more to him than birds. God cares for us even more than he cares for the birds.

Thank you, Father God for taking care of us.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Psalms 46-50, and today’s post is on Psalms 50:11.]

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.

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Bible Insights

The Lost Son: Our Heavenly Father Watches and Waits for Us

lost son

The Parable of the Lost Son Shows God’s Unconditional Love

Jesus teaches us of his Father’s unconditional love in a parable. Some people call this story “The Prodigal Son,” but calling it “The Lost Son” is more accurate (Luke 15:11-32). In this allegory we have a man and his two boys.

The older son is compliant, while the younger son is rebellious. The younger boy, the prodigal, has the audacity to ask his father for his share of the inheritance while Dad is still alive.

The father agrees, and the son takes off. He turns his back on his dad. The young man squanders his inheritance on an unrestrained life. Soon his money is gone. He’s left with nothing, taking on a despicable job to stay alive.

In his despair, he thinks back to his father and of how well he treats his hired hands. They have it much better than this wayward son—the lost son—who is penniless and starving. He decides to return home in humility.

He plans to beg the father he disrespected to take him on as a hired servant. At least then he’ll have enough to eat.

Meanwhile the father is on the lookout for his boy.

As the son journeys home, his father spots him in the distance. He runs out to embrace his boy. The son is returning to the father, and the father accepts him without hesitation, without asking questions.

Dad will have none of his boy’s plea to work for his food as a laborer. Instead the father reinstates the boy’s status as a son, an heir to all he has. With much joy Dad takes his boy in, reunited again.

To celebrate, the father throws a lavish party for his boy. He explains his rationale to the older brother. “My boy was as good as dead but is alive again. My lost son is now found.”

The Lost Son and Us

Like the lost son, the same applies to us if we disrespect God and turn our back on him. He’s waiting, looking for us to return. And when we come back, he’ll throw a lavish party. He will reinstate us as his heir. We were dead but are now alive. We were once lost but are now found.

Whether lost or found, God offers us unconditional love that we don’t deserve. All we need to do is embrace him and accept his love.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Luke 13-15, and today’s post is on Luke 15:11-32.]

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

Form a Habit of Regular Bible Reading

Bible reading plan

Hide God’s Word in Your Heart

God gave us the Bible so that we might learn about him and draw closer to him. While some people think of the Bible as God’s instruction manual for right living and proper performance, I think of it more as a love letter.

Because God loves us (Romans 5:8) and wants us to be in relationship with him, he adoringly provides the Bible to us to guide us and draw us to him. The Bible, along with Holy Spirit guidance, stands as God’s greatest resource for us to live a life worth living for our Lord’s honor and glory.

All we need to do is read its words.

How’s that going for you? This isn’t a question to make you feel guilty. It’s a gentle prod to encourage you to embrace regular Bible reading. Just as we need food to sustain us physically, we need a regular helping of God’s Word to sustain us spiritually.

Read and Study Scripture

How you go about immersing yourself in God’s Word is up to you, as guided by the Holy Spirit. But don’t leave this to chance, because if you do, life’s issues will push Bible reading aside and you’ll never find time to do it. Instead be intentional.

Form a habit of daily Bible reading, study, and meditation.

Schedule time each day to read God’s Word. Commit to doing this daily until it becomes a habit, as natural as eating and sleeping.

You may want to use a daily devotional or Bible study to lead you in immersing yourself in Scripture. Or you may opt to follow a daily reading plan that will intentionally and methodically guide you into reading and ingesting large sections of Scripture over time.

This will produce a holistic understanding of its contents. The main thing is to have a plan for reading the Bible, and follow that plan.

Though I’ve used daily devotionals and Bible studies to direct my reading of God’s Word, I prefer a daily reading plan. There are several Bible reading plans to choose from, and I have four options for you to consider.

An Annual Bible Reading Plan

I like to read the entire Bible each year. This includes reading the sections I like and the sections I struggle with. This is so that in one year I’ll complete a comprehensive survey of the entire Bible.

It only takes twelve to fifteen minutes a day. But this is a small commitment to help us grow in our faith and pursue a healthy spiritual life.

A New Testament Bible Reading Plan

If reading the entire Bible in a year, carving out a quarter of an hour each day, seems like too much of a commitment, I get it. I’ve been there. How about three to four minutes each weekday? That’s how much time it will take to read the New Testament in one year.

An Old Testament Bible Reading Plan

If you’ve read the New Testament and want to expand your Bible reading, but aren’t ready to embark on reading the entire Bible, consider a thorough look at the Old Testament. By reading ten to twelve minutes a day, you can read the Old Testament in one year.

Monthly Bible Reading Plans

If none of these options feel like the right fit for you and you want to start out small—or start midyear—consider a monthly Bible reading plan. This is a great way to get started in regularly reading the Bible.

Pick a Plan and Commit

There are a lot of options to reading the Bible. Pick one and commit to it. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Any Bible reading is better than no Bible reading. Remember, God gave us the Bible so we can learn more about him and be in relationship with him.

This is the most important relationship we’ll ever have. Don’t squander it

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.