Tag: Luke

The Power of the Finger of God

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 19, 2012

The phrase “the finger of God” occurs four times in the Bible.

The first is when the Egyptian magicians cannot duplicate the feats God is doing through Moses and they say, “This is the finger of God.”

The second and third times are when God gives Moses the Ten Commandments inscribed on stone tablets. What tool was used to etch the message in stone? None other than “the finger of God.”

The final use of the phrase is recorded by Luke. Jesus, when verbally sparring with his detractors, says his power to cast out demons is “the finger of God.”

So “the finger of God.” is sufficient to perform wondrous acts that cannot be duplicated, etch messages in stone, and empower Jesus to cast out demons.

If the finger of God can do all that, imagine what the arm of God can do—image what all of God can do.

Now that’s powerful.

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.

Tags God, Luke, Moses

Bible Insights

You are In Christ, Crucified with Him

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date July 12, 2011

The apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia about being “crucified with Christ.” In his letter to the church in Corinth, he states, “You are in Christ.”

That is a hard concept for me to grasp, yet, the phrase “in Christ” occurs some 90 times in the Bible. It appears in about half of the New Testament books, from Acts to 1 Peter, encompassing the writings of Luke, Paul, and Peter.

What does it mean to be “crucified with Christ” and to be “in Christ?”

Watchman Nee, in his book Sit, Walk, Stand, offers a most helpful illustration. He says, “If I put a dollar bill between the pages of a magazine, and then burn the magazine, where is the dollar bill?”

It is turned to ashes, along with the magazine. What happens to the magazine also happens to the dollar. “Their history has become one.”

“Just as effectively,” he continues, “God has put us in Christ. What happened to him happened also to us. All the experiences he met, we too have met in him.”

“Our history,” he concludes, was “written in Christ before we were born.” We were crucified with him.

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

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

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.

Tags Jesus, Luke, Paul, Peter

Bible Insights

A Frustrating Verse

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 27, 2011

There’s a verse in the Bible that frustrates me—not for what it says, but for what it doesn’t say. Here’s the background:

Jesus dies and rises from the dead, but his followers are slow to catch on. Two of them are on a road trip and Jesus begins walking with them, but they don’t recognize him.

As they walk, he begins to remind them what the Bible says about the coming savior. Here’s how Luke tells it:

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

That’s the verse that frustrates me. It’s good to know that Jesus explained this, but I want to know exactly what he said.

True, there are a finite number of verses in the Old Testament that point to Jesus, so we could study them and reasonably guess at which ones he picked.

But speculating about this leaves me wanting more. I want to know what verses Jesus used and to hear him explain it.

Anything short of that leaves me wanting more. And that’s why this verse frustrates me.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Luke 22-24, and today’s post is on Luke 24:27.]

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 in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Jesus, Luke, Old Testament