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Christian Living

Reduce the Noise in Your Life to Better Hear God

We Must Remove Distractions to Hear What the Holy Spirit Says

I recently listened to a talk on the topic of noise. It was the opening message to a sermon series. The teaching provided many thought-provoking ideas to consider. It also supplied me with a springboard to examine my own contemplation about noise—specifically the noise around me. It triggered the realization that we need to reduce the noise pollution in our life to better hear God.

When we think of noise, we typically consider it from an auditory perspective, as in a tangible noise that assaults our eardrums. But noise occurs in other areas as well. There is visual noise, mental noise, and emotional noise. Yes, even spiritual noise.

Anything that distracts us from what is most important in our life is noise. Noise has a negative impact on our emotional state, our overall health, and our mental capacity. This is in addition to the noise pollution in our physical environment.

All sources of noise, in all forms, serve as a distraction and make it more difficult to hear God when he speaks.

Noise All Around Us

Life bombards us with noise.

Though we each live in different environments, with varying degrees of noise from diverse sources, life blasts us with noise.

In addition to the sounds from our environment, all too often we bombard ourselves with additional racket. We may do some of this without thinking, but other times it’s intentional.

Many of us also try to force our minds to multitask, even though real multitasking is an illusion. True, we can have one conscious focus, along with one subconscious input. But we can’t truly focus on two things at once.

At best we merely train our minds to quickly switch back and forth between the two. This, however, doesn’t produce optimum results. It’s exhausting. Some say attempting to multitask even damages our brains.

With all this noise pollution around us, how can we expect to hear God when he speaks? He may be talking, but are we in a position to hear?

Too often, the answer is no.

Reduce the Noise

For some time, I’ve been working to reduce the noise—the distractions—in my life. This has served to produce a saner, happier, and less stressful existence. It has improved my mental health and provided more opportunities to hear from God.

Here are some areas I’ve tackled.

News

One item I’ve addressed is the news. As I told friends on my email list, I’ve stopped listening to the news. It’s negative, biased, and has an adverse effect on my mental health and overall well-being. I’ve now gone over one year without listening to the news on TV or radio. I do subscribe, however, to one weekly newspaper so that I’m not totally unaware of what’s going on, but when it comes to news, that’s it—along with whatever my family may tell me about.

Social Media

Another area is social media. The noise there is intentional and can serve as a huge time drain. Yes, I still have a presence on social media, but I don’t go there often. I seldom go to a few platforms, and I visit most others only once a week for a brief check in.

Facebook is one place I go to each weekday, but it’s only once a day. I review messages in the handful of Facebook groups I’m in and see updates from family. It’s intentional and brief. I schedule this Monday through Friday. It’s a task to complete, which I try to do in as short a time as possible.

Smart Phone

I’ve seen too many people who were slaves to their phones, granting it their attention at every idle moment and having it inundate them with an array of alerts.

My smart phone is for my convenience, so I place severe limits on it. I don’t have any social media apps on it, and I’ve not connected it to my email. There is no email message that needs my immediate attention.

Few people have my number and—unless I expect a call from someone—I never answer numbers I don’t recognize.

Computer

I use technology for my work, with my computer being central. Just as with my cell phone, I’ve turned off every alert except for reminders tied to my calendar.

I also pursue a zero-inbox strategy with my email. Else there’s a pile of pending messages to add more noise to my life—emotional noise, not physical. In parallel fashion, I’m pushing to have only one tab open in my browser. It’s a work in progress.

Noise Reduction Goals

I’ve made much improvement in my effort to reduce the noise in my life—the distractions that bombard me every second of every day—so that I can better hear from God. But I have more work to do.

Here’s my current list.

Podcasts

I’m a podcasts junkie and subscribe to over two dozen informative programs. Some are faith related, others are about writing and publishing, and a few benefit my business. I try to listen to them only when I’m doing some subconscious activity, but in the push to listen to them all—even at 2x, twice the normal speed—I sometimes find myself listening to recordings when I should just turn it off and listen to God.

Windows

I’m not talking about the computer operating system but the number of application windows open at any one time in my computer. Right now, I have seven open. That’s too many. Each one serves as a distraction, a source of mental noise. Each window I close is one more step to reduce the noise in my life.

reduce the noise

Smart Phone

When I first got my phone, I pledged I would never pull it out in the presence of someone else. Even if it rang during a meeting, I would ignore it. The person in my presence should be more important than the person on the phone trying to interrupt us.

Over time my resolve has slipped. It’s true that without email and social media on my phone, I’m not pulling it out for the latest updates during every idle second. But I too often find myself looking something up germane to the conversation I’m having in real life. But, In truth, we need to know every answer to everything that comes our way in that exact second.

Television

Long ago I stopped turning on TV to see what was on or because I lacked the motivation to do something more productive. But even though my TV consumption is now intentional, I still watch too much. This is another area where I need to reduce the noise.

Few TV programs and movies pass Paul’s lofty list of what to think about: whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Instead of seeking out shows that “aren’t too bad,” I’ll be better off applying Paul’s list to the visual entertainment I consume.

YouTube

Watching videos online can be a huge time suck. That’s why I stay off YouTube as much as possible, otherwise one video leads to a second, which calls for just one more. Before I know it, I’ve lost a half an hour of my time that I can’t recover. Yet when I go online to post a video, there it is, begging me to watch the next intriguing, can’t-miss video. If I can resist watching the first one, I’ll stave off wasting thirty minutes of my time.

I do, however, subscribe to a couple of YouTubers, but I block out time to watch them on television. I go through the list of pending episodes, and then I’m done, without watching anything else.

Less Noise and More Hearing from God

Some may conclude that by removing these many things from my life I’ve made it somehow less interesting, even boring. Let me offer a counter conclusion: less is more.

I take most seriously what my Creator says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10). The less noise I have in my life, the better I’m able to connect with the Almighty. I have much more noise reduction to accomplish, but I’m headed in the right direction and making steady progress.

May we all reduce the noise pollution in our life and allow more time to hear from God.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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

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Christian Living

What Does the Word of God Mean?

Discover Four Key Things Scripture Says about the Word of God

The phrase “Word of God” appears forty-five times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. The book of Acts leads the way with eleven occurrences, followed by Revelation with six.

But what does the Word of God mean?

1. The Bible

Ask people what the word of God means, and many will say it refers to the Bible. Indeed, Scripture reveals God’s written word to us. Penned over several centuries and preserved for us today, its words reveal God to us.

In this way, the Bible is God’s word.

2. The Holy Spirit

In Paul’s teaching about the armor of God, he talks about the Sword of the Spirit, which he identifies as the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). If we assume he’s talking about the Bible, however, we may be off base. This is because the New Testament of the Bible did not exist when Paul wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Since the word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, we can rightly connect these two phrases to see this as God’s spoken word coming to us from the Holy Spirit.

We can conclude that God’s word is both his written word and his spoken word. But there’s more.

3. Creation

In the account of our beginning in Genesis 1, we see that God spoke creation into existence. Eight times the gospel account records, “God said, let . . . ” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, and 26).

In this instance we see the spoken words of God—that is, the word of God—as the source of creation. He literally spoke our world into existence.

This means we have the word of God all around us, all the time. All we need to do to see God and hear him is to look at the creation that his words made.

4. Jesus

When it comes to the word of God, there’s one more consideration—the most important one of all. It’s Jesus.

John, in his biography of Jesus, opens with his evocative, poetic introduction. In this he calls Jesus the Word, that is, the word of God (John 1:1, 14). Jesus came to earth to reveal God to us and to save us. Many of the times the New Testament mentions the word of God, it refers to the gospel, the good news about Jesus.

We see Jesus in the Bible, revealed by the Holy Spirit, and through all creation.

And, by the way, Jesus as the Word, was there at creation—the beginning—when God’s words spoke our reality into being (John 1:1). And Jesus will be present at the end of this age (Revelation 19:13).

Jesus confirms that he is Alpha and Omega, First and Last (Revelation 22:13). Our present reality starts with Jesus, and it will end with Jesus, the word of God.

Word of God Conclusion

We see the word of God in the Bible, from the Holy Spirit, among creation, and through Jesus. These are all various aspects of God’s word, but it starts with Jesus and ends with Jesus.

Truly, Jesus is the word of God.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

What is the Spirit of Truth?

John Teaches about The Holy Spirit

One of the things I enjoy when studying the Bible is to investigate words and phrases that are repeated throughout its pages. The phrase “Spirit of Truth” is one such example that jumps out at me and begs further investigation.

Interestingly, only John uses “Spirit of Truth” in his writing. Since John is a bit of a poet, it makes sense that he would use this intriguing phrase.

These words appear three times in the Gospel of John (John 14:16-17, John 15:26, and John 16:12-13) and once in John’s first letter (1 John 4:6).

Though the precise meaning in 1 John is a bit confusing, in each instant in the book of John, he quotes Jesus.

In these contexts, Jesus is talking about sending an Advocate to help us and be with us forever. He speaks of the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit of Truth is a synonym for the Holy Spirit.

I actually prefer the label Spirit of Truth, as it better conveys who the Holy Spirit is and what he does: the Holy Spirit comes to reveal truth to us; he is the Spirit who brings us truth; he is the Spirit of Truth.

In his first letter, John writes about distinguishing the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.

Though John is maybe alluding to something else, it makes sense to also understand this as the Holy Spirit, as that’s what John means the other three times he uses the phrase.

Though I doubt I’ll adjust my vocabulary to start calling the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the descriptive nature of Spirit of Truth is certainly worth remembering: the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth to us.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 13-15, and today’s post is on John 14:16-17.]

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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Christian Living

Holy Trinity: The Great Three in One

3 Illustrations of the Trinity

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.

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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Christian Living

Tame the Tongue

Be Careful What You Say

Many people today—too many—feel they have a right to say whatever they want to say, whenever they want to say it. What they forget is that this privilege also comes with a responsibility to not say some things, to at times keep quiet.

Just because we can say something, doesn’t mean we should. Sometimes silence should prevail over our speaking. We must tame the tongue.

Though this unfiltered spew of unrestrained rhetoric is most pronounced online, especially social media, it carries over from cyberspace into our physical space, tainting our in-person interactions.

This must stop.

Though the world may not know any better, Christians should.

In the Bible, we see that James agrees. He has a whole passage warning about the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue, one that both praises God and harms others with its words (James 3:1-12).

James uses the analogy of people taming animals, but no one can tame the tongue. He says it’s full of “restless evil” and “deadly poison” (James 3:7-8, NIV).

Does this mean that we have no chance of controlling our words? Of course not.

Though people may not be able to tame the tongue of others, we can—through God’s help—tame our own tongue. We can restrain what we say with Holy Spirit help.

Paul writes to the church in Ephesus telling them that when they speak truth in love it will help them grow into maturity (Ephesians 4:15). This is an ideal place to start. We say what is true, but we do so in love.

In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul lists the characteristics of love. Love is patient and kind. It’s not envious, boastful, or proud. It doesn’t dishonor other people, isn’t selfish, and doesn’t yield to anger. It doesn’t remember the wrongs of others.

It mourns evil and celebrates truth. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Tame the Tongue

May these traits of love guide our speech, knowing that in some cases the best thing to say is nothing. In this way, we can tame the tongue.

The tongue is a dangerous tool that we must control.

We have a responsibility to God and to others to be careful what we say. Sometimes saying nothing is the best solution.

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

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Bible Insights

Six Eras in the Bible

Though God Doesn’t Change, but the Way He Relates to Us Has

We divide the Bible in two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament focuses on the relationship of Father God to his people and looks forward to the coming Savior.

The New Testament centers on Jesus and the work of his followers. Each testament has its own focus, and we must not lose sight of it.

To further enhance my understanding of Scripture, I look at the Bible in three parts, each one focusing on one aspect of the Trinity. God the Father is central throughout the Old Testament. God the Savior—Jesus—is central in the Gospels.

God the Spirit takes center stage in the rest of the New Testament, Acts through Revelation. Jesus, of course, stands as the foundational part of the godhead that saves us and draws us into right relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We can break this down even more, however, to better guide us as we study Scripture and apply it to our daily lives.

In this regard, it helps to consider six eras in the Bible. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes (Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8).

Yet the way he relates to his people does change throughout Scripture. We will do well to keep this in mind as we read and study the Bible, taking care to not take one passage from the past and misapply it to our situation today.

Consider these six eras in the Bible.

1. Paradise

God creates the world in which we live and places people in it. Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden. They walk with God in the cool of the evening. But they break the one rule he gave them.

They eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

So that they don’t also eat from the tree of life, and live forever in their sin, God forces them out of this idyllic paradise.

This takes place in Genesis 1–3 and moves us into the second of six eras in the Bible.

2. No Law

Though most people think of the Old Testament’s focus as being on God’s law, this doesn’t occur yet, not until the third era. The second era is what happens after Adam and Eve leave the garden and prior to God giving the Law to Moses.

During this time, God continues to speak to his people (Adam, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others). Throughout this time, God is patient. He does not hold people accountable for their sins.

This is because there are no laws to let the people know that they are doing wrong (Romans 5:13).

During this era, God wipes out the depravity of the people he created by killing most all of them through a flood. Only Noah and his family survive. It’s creation 2.0, a restart of humanity, a do over. Then God calls Abraham and later Moses.

God tells his people he wants them to become a nation of priests (Exodus 19:6), but the people are afraid of God and don’t want him to talk to them. They request that Moses stand in for them.

This ends the second of six eras in the Bible, covering Genesis 3 through Exodus 18.

3. The Law

Then God gives the people his laws and shares his expectations. This begins the third era, which covers the rest of the Old Testament of the Bible, Exodus 19 through Malachi.

This era has three phases, but they all fall under Old Testament law. In the first phase God rules as their sovereign Lord, and judges lead the people from time to time.

The people, however, go through cycles of following God—usually under various judges—and turn away from him after each judge dies.

For the second phase under the law, the people ask for a king, which effectively rejects God as their king. He starts with Saul. David then replaces Saul, and God establishes David’s line forever, from whom the Messiah will come.

In this phase, kings rule instead of God. Most do so badly, and the people rebel against their Lord. Most of the prophets do their work during this era.

For the third phase under the era of the law, God’s people are conquered and deported. They have no ruler, and they have no nation.

Though some eventually return to the promised land, they subsist without leadership, except for some of the latter prophets. The people wait for the coming Savior to rescue them. This is the third of the six eras in the Bible.

4. Jesus

Jesus comes to earth, calls people to follow him, and dies as the ultimate sacrifice for sin to end all sacrifices. But he overcomes death, proving his power to serve as the once-and-for-all sacrifice.

This is the fourth of six eras in the Bible and is the pivotal point around which all Scripture—and all humanity—revolves. The four biographies of Jesus cover this: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

5. The Church

After giving his followers final instructions, resurrected Jesus returns to heaven. The Holy Spirit arrives to guide the church and remind them of Jesus. Acts through to Revelation 3 cover this fifth era of the Bible.

We currently live in this era today, which is why the New Testament is critical to guide our actions as Jesus’s church. And the Old Testament supports this because it looks forward to this era.

Yet to conclude the six eras in the Bible, there is one era remaining, a time we anticipate for our future.

6. A New Heaven and New Earth

Starting in Revelation 4 we read of John’s vision of the future. Though the details confuse most and trip up many, the main point is that there will be an epic spiritual battle between good and evil. God wins. Satan is defeated.

After this we will see a new heaven and a new earth. This is paradise restored. Everyone who follows Jesus will spend eternity with him there.

This is the sixth era of the Bible and the one we anticipate as Jesus’s disciples.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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Christian Living

How to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

God Gives Us Special Abilities to Advance His Kingdom

The topic of spiritual gifts confuses many people and perplexes others. It’s easy to understand a physical present, something we can put in a box, wrap, and put a bow on. Giving tangible objects as gifts is easy to comprehend—and to receive.

The disconnect comes as we move from the physical to the spiritual. God gives us spiritual gifts. These are significantly more important than a physical present anyone could ever offer.

But these presents don’t come in a nicely gift-wrapped package, presented to us on a special occasion.

In the post What Are Spiritual Gifts? I offer a basic framework. God provides us with special abilities to grow his kingdom. These come from the Holy Spirit and are for our common good, divinely allocated as needed.

In each local church, we are one body made up of various parts. God equips each of us to do our part for his church. One way he does this is by supernaturally giving us special abilities.

To assist us in comprehending these spiritual presents, some examples will help us better understand. Bible scholars list spiritual gifts. Based on Scripture, they come up with between nine and twenty-three divine gifts, sometimes more.

Though this finite catalog of spiritual gifts is a smart place to begin, I don’t view any list as absolute. If it were, Paul would certainly have given them all in one place. He records thirteen for the church in Corinth and them tacks on four more.

He adds another quartet of gifts in his letter to the church in Rome and two more to the church in Ephesus. We can also find additional gifts in other New Testament books, as well as in the Old Testament.

We should view any list, regardless of its length, as the starting point and not the end. The basic truth about spiritual gifts is that the Holy Spirit will provide Jesus’s followers with special abilities to advance the kingdom of God.

How to Learn Your God-Given Gifts

If you want to discover what your gifts are, one option is to do a spiritual gifts assessment. There are both online resources and books that can help you determine your special abilities.

One such book is Discover Your Spiritual Gifts by C. Peter Wagner, as well as many others.

Another discovery option is to ask close friends what areas of giftedness they see in you. Even better, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to you.

Whichever path you take, may God lead you into discovering and using the gifts God has given you.

Regardless of what our spiritual gifts are, our job becomes to receive these divine presents and use them for their intended purpose.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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Christian Living

Why Does Today’s Church Follow an Old Testament Model?

Don’t Do Church Wrong

I think we’re doing church wrong. At first I assumed it was just me, but today’s church is stuck in a rut, an Old Testament rut. We follow an Old Testament model for church.

Moses’s Method: The Old Testament Model

When God gave Moses the Law, he established some key expectations for worship.

First, he set specific parameters for the tabernacle, which later became the temple. It housed various articles and activities of worship.

With little exception, the people had to go to the temple to worship God. They understood the temple as God’s dwelling place here on earth.

But the people wouldn’t connect with God directly; they were afraid of him. They wanted an intermediary, someone to reveal the Almighty to them and to represent them to him.

To address this, God established the priesthood. These priests would serve God in his temple and be his representatives to his people.

Of course, this religious structure required financial support to maintain, so God instituted a temple tax, the tithe, an obligation to pay 10 percent to provide for the needs of the building and to support the staff.

Today’s Approach

Today, we still follow this Old Testament model: we have a church building where we go to worship God, hire a minister who represents God to us, and take a collection to support this hungry and growing infrastructure.

This is not what Jesus had in mind. In one single action, he did away with the building, the staff, and the offering. We should do the same.

Jesus’s Way

When Jesus overcame death, the veil in the temple ripped apart, exposing the inner sanctum of the most holy place and symbolically allowing everyone direct access to God.

No longer was God distant and removed; he became approachable by everyone.

The New Temple

God ceased living in the temple and began living in us. Our bodies became the temple of God. No longer is a physical building needed; we became his temple.

The New Priesthood

No longer did priests need to serve as a liaison between the creator and the created. Instead, all who follow Jesus became his priests. The laity, serving as priests to each other, should minister to one another, not hire someone else to do it for them.

No longer is there a need for paid staff to be the link between God and his people. We can now all approach God directly, hearing from him and acting on his behalf.

The Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to us sees to that—if we are but willing to listen, hear, and obey what he says.

The New Finances

Finally is that pesky temple tax, which we call a tithe. A church’s building and staff take up 90 to 100 percent of a typical church’s budget. But once we remove the facility and the paid staff, there is no longer a need to give 10 percent.

Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to tithe, not to God, not to the local church—as many ministers insist—and not for ministry.

The only time New Testament writers talk about tithing is in reference to Old Testament practices, which Jesus fulfilled.

Instead of tithing to church, we see a principle where everything we have belongs to God. We are to be good stewards of his blessings, in turn using them to bless others.

We must use our resources to help those in need and advance God’s kingdom, not to support and perpetuate a religious institution.

Which Model to Follow?

So why do we persist in following the Old Testament model of going to church each Sunday to seek God, being served by a minister, and tithing when Jesus died to give us something new, something much better?

Jesus turned us into his temple, promoted us to priests, and changed the 10 percent temple tax into a principle of generosity.

Yes, it’s easy to do what we have always done; it’s comfortable to cling to the status quo, but Jesus offers us so much more—and he yearns for us to take hold of it.

There is a new way to worship God, to worship him in spirit and in truth—and it doesn’t involve attending church each Sunday.

So stop following the Old Testament model of church: going to a building to meet God, revering the clergy, and tithing out of guilt or obligation. Instead, be God’s temple, act like priests, and share generously.

This is the new model that Jesus gave us.

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking 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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Bible Insights

The Writings of Dr. Luke

Learn More about Luke

Paul is the most prolific writer in the New Testament. Who is second? That would be Dr. Luke.

Luke wrote an account of Jesus’s life (called “The Gospel According to Luke,” or simply “Luke”). He also chronicled the activities of the early church (called “The Acts of the Apostles” or just “Acts”).

He researched and wrote these two books for a man name Theophilus, so that Theophilus could know for sure what he had been taught. These books help us today, so that we can also know for sure.

These two accounts encompass over 25 percent of the New Testament and give us valuable historical information about Jesus and his followers, providing a powerful and compelling two-book combination.

Luke was a doctor and the only non-Jewish writer in the New Testament. As such, his words are that of an outsider and may more readily connect with those on the “outside.”

Luke wrote with simple, yet compelling language. As a trained professional, He was a keen observer and provides many details and facts that are not included in the other three historical accounts of Jesus.

The book of Acts looks at Jesus’s followers and their efforts to continue on without him. They wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, who Jesus promised to send to them for guidance, direction, and counsel.

Many people look to Acts for a model for how the church should function.

Noteworthy in Acts is the frequent mention Holy Spirit. With about 100 references, Acts provides a close and personal insight into the function and mystery of the Holy Spirit.

Both our monthly Bible reading plan and the New Testament reading plan kick off the year with the books of Luke and Acts. Regardless of your Bible reading intentions for the year, I hope you are off to a good start—and if not, why not start today?

Read more about the book of Luke in That You May Know: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more about the book of Acts in Tongues of Fire: 40 Devotional Insights for Today’s Church from the Book of Acts, available 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.

Categories
Christian Living

Pray to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Praying to the Godhead

Last week we looked at God as Trinity and used the image of a tripod to illustrate how one God can exist in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now we’ll build upon that understanding and use it to inform us so that we can better pray to the Trinity.

When you pray, who do you pray to? Many people address their prayers to God. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s a bit impersonal and keeps him at a distance.

God doesn’t want that, and we shouldn’t either. God desires that we have an intimate relationship with him.

This should be our intent as well. One way to do this is to stop addressing our prayers to God and start talking to him using his Trinitarian parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is, our Creator, our Savior, and our Advocate.

To inform us as we move forward, consider the characteristics of each part of the godhead.

Pray to the Trinity When We Offer Thanks and Praise

God deserves our adoration and are thankful hearts. Out of gratitude for what he’s done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us we should praise and thank him.

To help make this come alive we can address our appreciation, as appropriate, to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.

For example, we can praise the Father for creating us (knowing that his Son took part as well, John 1:1-3). We can thank Jesus for saving us. We can thank the Holy Spirit for living in us and guiding us.

Likewise, we can praise Father God for his blessings and provisions. We can praise Savior God for his example, words, and sacrifice to save us. We can praise Holy Spirit God for living in us and guiding us.

Pray to the Trinity When We Make Our Requests

We can also use this idea of praying to the Trinity to inform our petitions. For example, James writes that if anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God (James 1:5).

This is correct. But which part of the godhead can best grant this request? The Holy Spirit. So ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

If we seek a blessing, who might we ask? Go to God the Father. Ask the Father for his provisions, and he will provide.

If we desire to live a more holy life—not to earn God’s attention but as an act of worship—we might ask this of Jesus, since his life serves as an example for us to follow.

In Whose Name Should We Pray?

Jesus tells us we are to set our requests before him, asking in his name (John 14:13-14).

Some Christian traditions follow this by adding a phrase to the end of their prayers: “in Jesus’s name we pray, amen.” Of course, Jesus also tells us to pray to the Father (Matthew 6:6). Which is it? Both.

In addition, the Holy Spirit can help us when we pray. He will intercede for us (Romans 8:26-27). Should we then pray in his name?

How about all three? This may be why other Christian traditions pray “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Enjoy Freedom as We Pray

This idea that we can pray to the Trinity is to free us so that we can move into a closer and more meaningful relationship with God. In doing so we should hold loosely our desire to identify the correct part of God to pray to.

If we ask Jesus for something that more appropriately should go to the Father, it’s not a problem. They are one (John 17:22).

Praying to one is praying to all three. If we get the name wrong, it’s not a big deal.

This idea that we can pray to the Trinity is not a command to follow but one option to enhance our prayers. As we pray to the Trinity, we can breathe life into our prayers if our words mired stuck in a rut.

In the same way, this can also draw us into a closer relationship with God if he seems distant. Remember, it’s not him who’s far away from us but we who are far away from him.

When we pray to the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we draw ourselves to God in greater intimacy. Isn’t this the purpose of prayer?

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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