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Visiting Churches

Make a Difference Wherever You Go

My wife and I are on track to start our “52 Churches” adventure this coming Sunday—look for my first update on Monday.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

As friends prayed about this, they prayed that we would have a positive impact on each of the 52 churches we visited.

This surprised me.

Though it is generally my goal to make a difference wherever I go, I’d never considered it for the “52 Churches” initiative. I assumed we would merely be observers, taking in and receiving information, but not giving anything in return.

Now that I have had my perspective appropriately adjusted, this adventure has become doubly exciting. I wonder what we will learn—and what we will share.

[Read the next post about 52 Churches.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

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

Watch Your Language

Avoiding Christianese

I once shared a story with a new friend and fellow followers of Jesus about a young boy praying for his teacher. My friend was perplexed and silent for a moment.

Finally, she stammered out an explanation, ”I’ve never prayed for people before.” I didn’t know how to take this.

Did she mean to say that she never offered prayers on behalf of others? Was this a foreign concept to her? Did she have a theological aversion to intercession? Aside from liturgical prayers uttered at church, did she not pray?

To make sure that we aren’t misunderstood, we need to choose our words carefully

Or perhaps it was my words that threw her off. If instead of saying “prayed for…,” what if I had said “asked God to bless…” or “requested that God watch over…?” Would alternate phrasing have removed the confusion?

Recently, the MC at an event randomly picked an audience member to participate in the show and was making the requisite small talk. The person was attending with a group of ministers and said he was “waiting for a call.”

I knew what he meant, but the host was perplexed. Even the guest’s explanation left his interrogator confused.

When we move in tight spiritual circles, we are bound to fall into using phrases and terminology that make complete sense to our friends but leave those on the outside confused and perplexed.

To make sure that we aren’t misunderstood, we need to choose our words carefully so that our efforts to communication are not thwarted. We need to watch our language.

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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Categories
Christian Living

God Loves Us!

Sometimes when praying or meditating I’m profoundly struck with the powerful realization of just how much God loves me, that he really, really loves me. In fact, he loves you, too! God’s love is always there.

I shake my head in amazement and wonder why. I don’t deserve God’s love; I have not earned his affection. I have done nothing noteworthy to garner such attention. But it’s there nonetheless.

In my mind, I know that God’s love for me is unconditional; that I don’t deserve it and that I can’t earn it.

Intellectually I am aware that there’s nothing I can do to cause him to love me anymore nor is there anything I can do to cause him to love me any less. This reality overwhelms me.

But in my heart, I waver; my soul doubts—just a bit—that this could really be true. Why, God?

Why do you love me with such overflowing, non-ending, unwarranted capacity? Don’t I need to do good first? Don’t I need to behave in a certain way to get your attention? Don’t you have a list of prerequisites for me to achieve?

Thankfully not.

Earning God’s love is not up to me; it’s all on him. God loves us and it’s a gift.

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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Categories
Christian Living

Meditating on God

The word meditate is a verb. Verbs are action words; they are doing words. To mediate means to reflect on; to contemplate; to think about something deeply (especially spiritual matters).

I often meditate on what God tells me in the Bible and through his Spirit.

The result of one such season of meditation culminated in some insight that I passed on in my post, “God is Omni.” In it I shared three characteristics of God and made three corresponding conclusions about our relationship to him.

Interestingly, the first two conclusions occurred to me quite quickly, while the third did not show up for several months.

During that time, I would periodically meditate the three “omni” characteristics of God and the two insights he had given me, pondering—meditating—on what I was sure would be a third insight. Then one day, God revealed it to me.

Had I not been meditating on it, I am quite sure it would have remained hidden. More recently I began meditating on the phrase “tree of life.” I will share more about that next week, as I continue to cogitate—that is, meditate—on it.

When I was meditating on God’s “omni” characteristics, it was generally for less than a minute at a time, but occurred almost every morning.

Then one day the sought after insight was suddenly given. Other times, I will meditate while in prayer, asking God for his input—and then listening.

On still other occasions, I jot down ideas that I revisit from time to time, adding any new thoughts that have been revealed. Lastly, I meditate by writing, be if for a book, a blog, an article, or a journal entry.

However, regardless of the form that my meditations may take, the eventual result is always a deeper and more fuller understanding 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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Categories
Christian Living

What is Prayer?

As a child, I was taught that prayer was talking to God. That is a concise definition and offers an excellent child-appropriate primer on prayer.

Later, I was provided with an expanded explanation, that prayer was one-way communication from us to God, with the Bible offering God’s communication back to us.

For many people that succinctly sums up how they and God communicate.

While that is true, it is also limiting. A better understanding is that prayer is talking with God.

I experience prayer as two-way communication between God and me. Sometimes I talk; sometimes I listen; sometimes I ask and usually he answers; sometimes

I just sit, aware of his presence, but not needing to say or do anything—that is often the best prayer.

Sometimes my prayers are audible, sometimes they are silent, sometimes they are written out, and other times they are merely the groaning of my heart.

I suspect that there is even more to prayer than all this—and my hope is that as I pursue God, I will discover a still deeper and expanded form of prayer.

What I do know is that the creator of the universe and savior of humanity wants to hear from me—and from you.

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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Categories
Christian Living

Say Amen for the Right Reasons

The convention in the circles I move in is that the word “amen” is the concluding statement of a prayer. Most people give that word little thought—or if they do, it may seem no more than a comfortable ritual or trite tradition than anything significant.

Upon reflection, it seems that when we say amen at the end of a prayer may be akin to telling God, “goodbye.”

In group settings, for the people who are listening to your prayer, “amen” is a signal that the prayer is over, that you are finished, or “I’m done.” It is now time for other activities to resume.

Lastly, for those who feel a need—be it of conviction or compulsion—to echo your “amen” with an “amen” of their own, it’s like saying, “I agree.”

Apparently, “amen” has three meanings: “goodbye,” “I’m done,” and “I agree.”

The Amplified Bible provides some additional insight, parenthetically rendering “amen” to mean “so be it” or “so let it be.”

The next time you pray in private, I challenge you to mix it up a bit and skip the “amen,” instead using “so be it” or “so let it be.”

However, for public prayers, it may catch people off guard. So unless you’re with people you trust and who love you, it might be best to stick with the traditional “amen,” even if it has become a bit of a ritual.

Can anyone say amen?

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.

Categories
Christian Living

Going on a Prayer Retreat

Last August, I went on a 24-hour prayer retreat. I had scheduled it at the beginning of summer, picking the optimum day amongst a calendar of prior commitments and a busy work schedule.

I anticipated the day with much excitement but some trepidation, looking forward to what God would have in store for me as I sought him.

Many events would conspire to thwart my attempts to arrive at the designated place to begin my sojourn. At several times I had to fight a strong and insistent compulsion to abort my mission. Gratefully, I did not.

Even once there, it took a few hours to quite my racing mind enough to be able to seek God and listen to his gentle words.

My diligence and persistence paid off. It was a significant time of spiritual enlightenment and divine encounter. At the end of my 24 hours, I was not ready to leave and even lingered for a few more.

As I drove home, thinking of the work that awaited me there, I was already planning my next retreat.

Could it be a quarterly event? I desired that to be the case, but here it is, almost a year later and another prayer retreat is yet to be planned.

In some respects, the attacks that preceded my retreat are a bit off-putting. Plus, there is a nagging fear that a second time would pale in comparison to the first. But the reality is that I failed to plan.

I let the minutia of each day, each week, and each month obscure a better and higher goal: to block out quality time to spend with God.

Granted, I do this incrementally throughout each day and on a smaller scale when I fast (almost) every week, but that pales in comparison to a full day focused on God.

I want to do this again. I need to do this again, but when will I do this again?

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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Categories
Christian Living

Apophatic Prayer or Kataphatic Prayer?

A friend recently introduced me to two highfalutin, but insightful phrases: Apophatic Prayer and Kataphatic Prayer.

Kataphatic Prayer is praying using words, thoughts, and images.

Apophatic Prayer is prayer without words, thoughts, and images.

Another explanation—often credited to Eugene Peterson, but which I’ve not yet confirmed—is that Apophatic Prayer is praying with your eyes closed, while Kataphatic Prayer is praying with your eye open.

Here’s how I comprehend it. Do you have a close friend, with whom you are comfortable just being with each other? Where words are superfluous?

Where silence is not an uncomfortable torture? So it is with God when we approach him apophatically.

While some assert that Apophatic Prayer is higher than Kataphatic Prayer, I view them as complementary.

Just as a good relationship could never exist devoid of words (apophatic)—instead requiring verbal communication (kataphatic) in order to persist—so it is with us and God.

It is wonderful when we can transcend the tangible, but to remain there exclusively will ultimately serve to diminish our relationship with the almighty.

The right response to the question posed in this post’s title is Apophatic and Kataphatic. Good prayer—and a right relationship with God—requires both words and silence.

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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Categories
Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: The Prayer of Jabez

Breaking Through to the Blessed Life

By Bruce Wilkinson (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life, is a short work and a compelling read. It is based on a brief, two-verse Biblical account of an obscure ancient man, named Jabez.

All that is known of Jabez is recorded in these two verses, which provides a short bio, a brief prayer, and a concise pronouncement of the outcome.

The book greatly expands on the aforementioned two verses, informing readers of the man, his life, and his character, before delving into his concise prayer to God. 

Only five lines long, Jabez’s succinct entreaty carries with it great meaning and significant applications for us living several thousands of years later.

Throughout the book, Dr. Wilkerson shares his own thirty-year journey with the prayer of Jabez, educating and inspiring us in the process. 

Although he lived a long time ago, Jabez and his prayer is still relevant today, being insightful and instructive to all who will consider it’s deeper meaning and applications.

[The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life, by Bruce Wilkinson. Published by Multnomah Books, 2005; ISBN: 978-1590524756; 96 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.Save

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.

Categories
Bible Insights

Jabez Was More Righteous Than His Brothers

One final reflection on the prayer of Jabez.

In the scant bio for Jabez, it describes him as a good man, saying he “was more righteous than his brothers.”

Righteous is a word that we don’t use too often nowadays, but means to be morally upright. Jabez then was a good, morally upright person.

Now, consider that characteristic with the final phrase in this passage, “So God granted him what he requested.”

That begs the question of causality. Did God give Jabez what he asked for because Jabez was good or was Jabez good because God gave him what he asked for?

The answer, I suspect is “yes”—to both questions—which certainly gives us something to contemplate in respect to our prayers and relationship to God.

[Read more on The Prayer of Jabez; 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NKJV]

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.