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Bible Insights

How Many Times Should We Forgive Someone?

Jesus shared a story (parable) about forgiving others.

Jesus’ illustration was prompted by Peter, who asked if forgiving someone seven times was enough; Peter thought seven times was generous. Jesus upped the figure considerably, saying seventy-seven times.

We don’t take this amount literally, instead understanding that Jesus really meant we need to forgive others “more times than we can count” or “without limit.”

Jesus’ story, however, takes the idea of forgiveness to another level. A man, who owed a huge debt he could never repay, begged for mercy, for more time to make payment. But instead of receiving additional time, the debt was forgiven.

But then the man threatened someone who owed him a tiny bit of money. No mercy was given; no forgiveness was offered. He withheld from others what had been given to him.

Because of the man’s selfishness and not treating others as he was treated, his debt was reinstated and he was thrown into prison and tortured. Our fate will be no different if we don’t forgive others.

We, who have been forgiven much by God, need to likewise forgive others. The risk of withholding forgiveness is too great.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Matthew 17-19, and today’s post is on Matthew 18:21-35.]

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

Satan Entices King David to Sin

The King Confesses His Mistake and Asks God to Take Away the Guilt

In 1 Chronicles 21 we read the account of David telling Joab to take a census of the people to determine how many fighting men are in the nation. This was Satan’s doing who tempted David into numbering his military. This could cause him to put his trust in the size of his armies and not God to give him victory, as he had always done.

Joab completed the momentous task and reported the numbers back to David. The king was immediately grieved for what he had done and confessed his sin to God. He implored the Lord to take away the guilt for his foolish act.

Today we know that Jesus has died to take away our guilt and absolve us from our sins. But this had not yet taken place in David’s time, and he had no such assurance. His guilt weighed him down. He confessed his sin and asked God to take away the guilt.

God gave him three sentence options and allowed David to select his punishment. David made his decision, opting for the one that was the shortest in duration and that came from God’s hand and not from human hands. It was a three-day-long plague over the nation.

It was David—and David alone—who sinned, but the whole nation received the penalty for David’s mistake. This doesn’t seem fair, and during the plague, David realized this.

He rightly confessed he was the one who sinned, and it was wrong for the people to suffer for his shortcoming. Yet instead of asking God to punish only him, David asks the Lord to punish him and his family.

Why didn’t David ask God to punish him alone?

Yet another question is why didn’t David—the man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22)—ask for mercy instead of judgment?

There are three lessons we can learn from this story:

  1. A leader’s shortcomings affect those who follow.
  2. Though we deserve punishment for the wrong things we do, we can ask God for mercy to take away the guilt.
  3. Through Jesus, Father God forgives and forgets our sins.

May we hold onto this.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Chronicles 21-23 and today’s post is on 1 Chronicles 21:8. We can also read this account in 2 Samuel 24.]

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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Christian Living

Develop an Expectant Mindset

How We View God Impacts What We Allow Ourselves to Receive from Him

I never liked the idea of mindset. It seemed a little too woo woo for me. It was as though I was depending on a positive attitude or self-fulfilling prophecy instead of relying on God to provide what I needed each day, instead of having an expectant mindset.

I recently realized, however, that my perception was in error. When it comes to God, we need to embrace an expectant mindset. Yes, we must rely on him to provide for our needs, but our perspective ties in with the degree to which we allow him to do that.

Consider how having an expectant mindset impacts our perception of God and opens us better to receive his blessings and provisions.

Generosity versus Scarcity

I recently talked about how my prayer each morning for God to provide my daily bread had over time morphed into a scarcity mindset. That perception of God limited my ability to receive what he wanted to give me. I needed to correct my thinking to properly view him as generous as opposed to stingy.

When it came to asking him for my daily bread, I needed to adopt an expectant mindset. Once I did, everything changed. Now I’m able to praise him each night for his generous provisions during the day.

Mercy versus Judgment

When we take a cursory glance of the Old Testament, it’s easy to see God emerge as mean spirited and judgmental. Yet a more careful read shows that he’s abundantly patient and full of compassion for his people.

Intellectually, we know about God’s grace and mercy, yet do our attitudes and actions align with this? Or do we perceive God as waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us? Though it’s appropriate to have a God-honoring respect of who he is, some people overreach and cower in trepidation that he’s poised to smack us down at the slightest of mistakes.

Having an expectant mindset helps change our perception of God from judgmental to merciful.

Loving versus Vengeful

Related to the idea of mercy versus judgment is love versus vengeance. Though we know God is a God of love and loves us—so much so that he sacrificed his Son to save us—do we love him back? Or do we fear him? Do we live a life where we anticipate his love or worry about his vengeance?

His vengeance, however, is for those who reject him, not those who follow him. Yet to all he offers love in the hope we will love him back.

Again, we need to adapt an expectant mindset to fully receive the love he offers. If we hold back because we expect punishment, we limit being able to receive the full amount of his love.

Have an Expectant Mindset

We know that God is generous, offers mercy, and is loving. Yet does that knowledge move from our head to our reality? Too often we act as though God withholds goodness from us, is judgmental, and awaits to afflict vengeance on us.

To combat this, we need to adopt, and fully embrace, an expectant mindset that God wants the best for us—if only we will let him.

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

The Tale of Two Sisters

An Old Testament Parable Warning about the Perils of Prostitution and Idolatry

Ezekiel shares a story about two sisters. It’s an Old Testament parable. And it comes directly from God. The older sister is Oholah, and the younger sister is Oholibah.

Oholah is Samaria, the capital of Israel and represents the ten northern tribes. The younger sister Oholibah is Jerusalem, the capital of Judah and represents that entire tribe.

The Older Sister and Assyria

Oholah gives herself over to prostitution. Her husband—who represents God—gives her over to her lovers, the Assyrians. Metaphorically, they take her and abuse her. In the end Assyria captures Israel and deports its people.

The Younger Sister and Babylonia

The younger sister, Oholibah, sees this happen but doesn’t learn from her older sister’s mistake. She follows her sister’s example, only she is more depraved. She has her eyes for the Chaldeans, also known as the Babylonians.

God warns her that if she doesn’t change her ways—doesn’t repent of her wrongdoing—he will turn her over to her lovers as well. “Since you’ve turned from me,” God says, “you must bear the consequences of your lewd behavior and prostitution.”

The Message

On the surface, this story is about immorality, chasing other lovers, and prostitution. It’s a wise warning against adultery and promiscuity, to remain true to your spouse.

Yet the underlying message is about spiritual adultery and spiritual prostitution. It’s about idolatry, about chasing after other gods and turning our backs on the one true God as revealed in Scripture.

The story ends with the Old Testament truth that these two sisters will need to pay for their sins. There’s a penalty for their lewdness and consequences for their idolatry. God will punish them, and then they will know he is the Sovereign Lord.

Jesus’s Solution

Yet this is an Old Testament parable. Though we should heed its lesson about maintaining sexual purity and spiritual purity, we know from the New Testament that Jesus forgives our sins—all of them—when we follow him.

Through Jesus we receive mercy instead of judgment.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ezekiel 23-24 and today’s post is on Ezekiel 23:49.]

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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Christian Living

What Is God’s Perception of You?

How We See Ourselves May Differ from How Our Heavenly Father Sees Us

I was recently reminded that God’s perception of us can be quite different from our own self-perception.

The pressures of life overwhelmed a friend. One concern, a second, and then more conspired to weigh her down and steal her joy. She emailed me with a list of worries and asked me to pray.

Her concerns included the status of her job and her husband’s, finances, possible repercussions in standing up for what is right, her children’s struggles, and a lack of clarity over critical future decisions. Her message was full of worry and despair. And it surprised me.

It seemed out of character. I see her as a strong woman, full of faith and abounding in courage. This is far different from what her email portrayed.

Yet as I considered her situation more fully, I realized my lofty perception of her is misaligned from the reality I sometimes see in her life. There have indeed been seasons when she has worried and fretted over what is and what might be. Through these times we prayed, and God provided.

I laughed at myself over how wrong my perception was, but then God told me that my assessment of her as a strong woman, full of faith and abounding in courage was correct.

“You see her as I see her,” my Heavenly Father gently whispered in my ear. That gave me joy . . . and much hope.

Quite simply, God sees us differently than we see ourselves. Never forget that.

Gideon

This reminds me of the story of Gideon in the Bible. God sent an angel to Gideon, who at the time was hiding in a winepress has he tried to thresh his wheat. God’s messenger called Gideon “a mighty warrior.” This surprised Gideon. Not only was he living in fear, but he saw himself as the least in his family.

God’s perception of Gideon was quite different than his own.

Yet Gideon seriously doubted what God called him to do. Despite his lack of faith in the beginning, Gideon obeyed God in the end and did what God told him to do. And Gideon prevailed through God’s provisions (Judges 6-7).

As with Gideon, we can view things from a human perspective, considering the tangible evidence around us and draw one set of conclusions. Or we can consider things from a spiritual perspective and reach a far different conclusion, one more closely aligned with Papa’s.

God’s Perception

God gave me his perspective for my friend. Though it didn’t match what I could see in the physical world, it did align with what I perceived from a spiritual perspective.

God’s perception is the one that matters.

This makes me wonder about God’s perception of me. I suspect he’s much kinder and more generous of who I am than my own critical self-assessment.

More importantly what’s God’s perception of you? Does he offer you grace and mercy while you pile up judgment and condemnation that weighs you down? Though we could have an inflated self-perception, I suspect most followers of Jesus think less of ourselves than we ought to.

God’s perception of us is what matters. We can count on 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.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

What Will We Promise God When We’re in a Crisis?

Will We Follow Through When the Pressure’s Off?

God’s chosen people toil as slaves in Egypt. He tasks Moses with getting them out. So far things aren’t going so well. God has sent seven plagues to get the Pharaoh’s attention, without achieving the people’s release.

Plague number eight is on its way: Locusts.

An army of locusts. They strip the foliage and fruit off everything in sight.

Panicked, Pharaoh summons Moses. He confesses his sin for having reneged on his last promise to let the people go. He begs for forgiveness and asks Moses to pray that God will take away the plague of locusts.

Moses prays. God answers. He whips up a wind that carries the locusts out to sea. Not one remains in Egypt. Problem solved for Pharaoh, at least for now.

Guess what happens next? With the threat of locusts over, and the pressure for relief gone, Pharaoh changes his mind—again. He refuses to let the Israelites leave.

It will take two more plagues, with the tenth being the deadliest of them all, before Pharaoh lets the people go.

If only he had followed through on his promise to let them leave sooner, he would have avoided countless needless deaths—including that of his firstborn son.

What Promises Do We Make to God When We’re in a Jam?

It’s easy to criticize Pharaoh for making a promise during a crisis and going back on his word when life returns to normal. But we do the same thing. It’s human nature.

How many times, when in a moment of crisis, have we made a rash promise to God? It goes something like this, “Get me out of this mess, and I’ll never do it again.”

Or we pledge to do something that we should have been doing all along. Or we vow to stop doing something that we shouldn’t be doing anyway.

Then God hears our plea and often rescues us. But do we follow through on what we promise God? Not likely. Or if we do follow through, our pledge lasts only a short time, and we soon return to living life as we’ve always lived.

Making a bargain with God is never a good idea, because if we don’t follow through, we may find ourselves in an even worse situation. We may be better off to confess our shortcomings and ask for his grace and mercy.

Else we could end up like Pharaoh who paid a huge price for his broken promises.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Exodus 8-10, and today’s post is on Exodus 10:12-20.]

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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Bible Insights

What God Desires

Consider How We Honor and Worship God

The first five books of the Bible talk a lot about God’s expectations of his people, about what God desires. He gives Moses his laws to guide them in right behavior, both what they’re supposed to do and what they’re to avoid.

The Bible also discusses—sometimes in excruciating detail—the complex array of sacrifices and burnt offerings God expects his people to regularly give him. Many of these occur according to the calendar, while others relate to life events.

It seems the people are never far away from an occasion to worship God through offering a sacrifice.

Because of the repeated emphasis on sacrifices in the Old Testament, it’s easy to conclude they’re the focal point of worshiping God. Or are they?

Hosea casts into doubt this assumption regarding the importance of animal sacrifices. He does this when he shares God’s perspective on this involved practice—which, incidentally, seems both wasteful and barbaric to most people today.

What God desires, according to the prophet Hosea, is that his people offer mercy and not sacrifices. He wants them to acknowledge him rather than present him with slaughtered animals.

Though it may be an overstretch to say that God wants them to stop offering animal sacrifices, he certainly is calling for a change in perspective. Could it be that the people’s hearts are not in the right place when they offer their sacrifices?

They might be going through the motions of a ritualistic religious practice while having lost all connection to the reason behind the rite—and the God who instituted it.

So it is when we blindly follow traditions that evolved over time without a thought or care to the original goal of the practice.

If God doesn’t want dead animals anymore, consider what he wants instead. He asks that his people be merciful to others. Giving mercy—and not insisting on judgment—emerges as a form of worship, one which God desires.

Think about it. We honor God by how we treat others and not some religious ritual that has ceased to hold meaning for us.

Next, God says that he wants his followers to acknowledge him. The original intent of the burnt offerings was to point to him, acknowledging him as Lord.

But if the burnt offerings now fail to do that, it makes sense to eliminate them and encourage the people to focus directly on him.

When we offer mercy to others, we honor God by reaching out to other people. When we acknowledge God as Lord, we honor him by reaching up to him.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Hosea 5-7 and today’s post is on Hosea 6:6.]

Learn more about all twelve of the Bible’s Minor Prophets in Peter’s book, Return to Me: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope from the Minor Prophets

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

Discover How to Treat One Another

Consider How the Bible Teaches Us to Treat One Another

The Bible gives us many “one another” commands that instruct us how to treat one another.

Things to Do

Love one another (John 13:34, John 13:35, Romans 13:8, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, 2 John 1:5).

Accept one another (Romans 15:7).

Instruct one another (Romans 15:14).

Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).

Forgive one another (Colossians 3:13).

Teach one another (Jeremiah 9:20).

Teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).

Encourage one another (Judges 20:22, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25).

Agree with one another (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7).

Give to one another (Esther 9:22).

Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16, 1 Peter 3:8).

Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)

Serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).

Bear with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (Romans 12:10).

Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10).

Greet one another with a kiss of love (1 Peter 5:14).

Greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12).

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19).

Spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9).

Administer justice, show mercy and compassion to one another (Zechariah 7:9).

Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5).

Things Not to Do

Do not deceive one another (Leviticus 19:11).

Do not break faith with one another (Malachi 2:10).

Do not degrade your bodies with one another (Romans 1:24).

Do not lust for one another (Romans 1:27).

Stop judging one another (Romans 14:13).

Do not hate one another (Titus 3:3).

Do not slander one another (James 4:11).

When we follow these one-another commands from the Bible, we will begin to treat others the way God intended.

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

Lessons from the Life of John Mark

Learn More about John Mark

There is an interesting story that begins in Acts 13. From it we can learn about the life of John Mark.

God tells the church to commission and send out Barnabas and Paul to other cities, telling the people they meet about Jesus. They do this, taking with them John (also called, John Mark or just Mark).

A Rough Start

The thing is, God didn’t tell them to take John Mark. He apparently doesn’t belong there. This is borne out later, when John Mark deserts Barnabas and Paul to return home.

Later, Barnabas wants to give John Mark a second chance (an example of mercy), but Paul says “no” (an example of justice). They part company over this disagreement, each going their separate ways.

This might seem like a bad development, but it turns out to be good, as they are then able to cover twice the ground, doubling their effectiveness and outreach.

A Strong Finish

For John Mark, his story ends on a positive note, too, with him and Paul later being reconciled (an example of grace) and Paul esteeming John Mark as his fellow worker and as being useful to him.

This is a great lesson in life. Despite making mistakes along the way, we can still finish well. John Mark did and so can we.

[Acts 13:2-3, 5, 13; Acts 15:36-41; Colossians 4:10, Philemon 1:24, and 2 Timothy 4:11]

Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now 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.

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Bible Insights

How Do You Handle Disappointment?

When God Wants to Give You a Second Chance Make Sure You’re Ready to Receive It

You’re probably not familiar with Ahithophel in the Bible. His life serves as a lesson in how not to respond to disappointment.

Though his name does show up a few times during the reign of King David, Ahithophel is a largely forgettable character. He is an advisor to the king. And when David’s son Absalom orchestrates a coup and tries to steal his father’s throne, Ahithophel switches his alliance from father to son, conspiring against David, the rightful ruler.

The Bible notes that Ahithophel gives advice to Absalom, which he follows. The second time Absalom seeks the counsel of his advisor, Ahithophel gives wise advice, but another counselor under the guise of helping—he’s there to help David, not David’s son—gives a counter recommendation.

This time Absalom decides not to follow Ahithophel’s advice.

How Ahithophel Responds to Disappointment

What does Ahithophel do?

He goes off in the sulk, puts his affairs in order, and hangs himself. End of story.

Yes, it would be embarrassing to be advisor to the king and have him reject your recommendation. But it’s not worth killing yourself over. And if his suicide is some misplaced honorable action, just remember that it is, indeed, misplaced.

What if Ahithophel hadn’t killed himself? Surely he would have another chance to advise Absalom. Maybe his counsel would’ve helped Absalom avoid being killed. Perhaps Ahithophel could have groveled before King David and sought his old job back. Then he could have continued advising the king.

But we’ll never know any of these, because Ahithophel chose to end his life. In one fatal decision, he removes the possibilities of what his future could be.

Can you think of another person in the Bible who hung himself? How about Judas?

How Judas Deals with Disappointment

Distraught over his role in bringing about Jesus’s death, Judas goes out and kills himself too. Yes, his remorse is much deeper than Ahithophel’s. Judas arguably committed the biggest mistake in human history.

Yet I wonder what might have happened had he not chosen to prematurely end his life. When Peter three times denied that he followed or even knew Jesus, he stuck around—although guiltily. And Jesus restored him into right relationship. Jesus forgave him and elevated him back into leadership.

If Judas hadn’t killed himself and stuck around, too, would Jesus have offered him mercy as well? I think so. Jesus is all about grace and mercy. But we’ll never know. Judas chose to end his life, so we’ll never know what it could have become.

When people end their life prematurely, they remove their future potential and take away the opportunity for restoration, to both other people and to God. The risk is simply too great to take.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is 2 Samuel 16-18, and today’s post is on 2 Samuel 17:23.]

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.