Isaiah Tells the People that God Will Choose Them Again, but Did He Ever Stop?
One phrase jumps out from today’s passage in Isaiah’s prophecy to God’s chosen people: once again he will pick Israel. God, through Isaiah, gives his people hope for a better tomorrow.
At this particular time, however, God’s people are discouraged; they feel he has abandoned them. They have no reason to celebrate; they have no cause for joy. God, it seems, has turned his back on them; it feels like he has left.
In reality he’s giving them a timeout, a deserved punishment to get their attention over their repeated disobedience. He wants to remind them of who he is and how they should act.
Yet they despair. They call out for him, desperate for a response.
But God delays.
Yet as he tarries he offers them hope for a better tomorrow. He promises he will choose them once again.
He chose them in the past, and he will choose them in the future. And though they don’t realize it, he chooses them now. But they don’t see it; they don’t feel chosen.
We all have times when God feels distant, when it’s hard to pray, when his voice remains silent, when faith falters. Some people call these the dry times or their desert experience. Yet God will choose us again.
The reality is that God will never un-chose us. We remain chosen by him—even when we don’t feel like it. We are God’s chosen people. May we remember to act like 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.
The letter to Philemon ends with a list of supporting players who send their greetings and implicitly endorse Paul’s missive of reconciliation.
First up is Epaphras, who by being singled out, stands alone in noteworthy acclaim. Simply and succinctly, Paul notes that Epaphras is “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.”
The Bible only contains two other references to Epaphras, both occurring in Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. First, in the opening lines, Paul calls him a “dear fellow servant” and then a “faithful minister.”
Later, in his closing remarks, Paul, again confirming that Epaphras is a servant of Jesus, adds that “He is always wrestling in prayer.” I’m not really sure what it means to wrestle in prayer, but it is a compelling image.
I welcome anyone who would wrestle in prayer for me—and I hope to do the same for others.
So, Epaphras is a servant of Jesus, a faithful minister, and a devotee to prayer. For this, he spends time behind bars.
Doing the right things for Jesus doesn’t necessarily keep us from suffering for him. In fact, suffering for Jesus, may just be affirmation that what we are doing for him is right.
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.
Once Reserved for Prophets, Now All People Can Have Visions
from God
A friend asked me about hearing from God and of
visions from God. I often think about hearing from the Holy Spirit, but I
infrequently consider visions, even though visions are one way that God communicates
with us.
Visions in the Bible
Mentions of visions occur thirty-six times in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament. The first time is when God tells his people that he will reveal himself to his prophets through visions, that he will speak to them in dreams (Numbers 12:6).
The book of Ezekiel records the most visions,
followed by Daniel. And the bulk of Revelation is one epic vision.
I suspect the most well-known verse about visions is when God says he will pour out his Spirit on all people. Then there will be prophecies, dreams, and “young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28). Notice that Joel says all people will receive God’s Spirit.
The fulfillment of this happens at the first Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
Hearing from God in the Bible
Interestingly, the phrase “the Lord said” and
variations thereof occur over 400 times in the Bible, ten times more often than
visions. This suggests it’s more likely we’ll hear words from God than we’ll
see visions.
Receiving Visions from God
I hear from God often, usually whenever I ask and sometimes when I don’t. My requests to hear him often start out like young Samuel, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Then God puts his words into my mind.
It’s up to me to discern which of those words came from God and which emerged from my own imagination. With practice, it becomes easier to separate the two.
Though I have had visions from God, they aren’t often. As far as I recall, I’ve never asked for a vision. They just show up. Usually they occur when I’m asleep and sometimes as I enter or leave sleep: a semi-conscious state, a trance.
The book of Acts notes that both Peter (Acts 10:10) and Paul (Acts 22:17) fell into a trance and God spoke to them through a vision.
For me a vision from God seems much like a dream. It’s up to me to discern which came from God and which came from myself. Again, with practice it becomes easier to know the difference.
Hearing from God and especially seeing visions from God happen more frequently when I fast and even more so as I pray and listen to God during a fast. That’s when he speaks to me, mostly through words and occasionally through visions.
Of course, I don’t need to fast to hear from God, I merely need to listen.
And where did my thoughts for this post come from? They came during a
fast. I was praying and listening to God. I asked him if he had anything to
tell me about visions that I could share with my friend. Then I heard from the
Holy Spirit. This post is the result.
Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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.
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.
It’s a quintessential country church and our third Baptist congregation in six weeks. With no online presence, what we know is from their sign out front: its name and service time.
The sanctuary is smaller than I expected. One lady greets us warmly and another scurries to fetch us a bulletin. We fill out the visitor card and drop it in the offering plate.
This information must be important; at least two more people will offer us one before the day is over.
With thirty in attendance, it’s surprising that four members have birthdays this week. We sing “Happy Birthday.” Also are four anniversaries.
A few songs into the service is an extended greeting time, followed by prayer requests. There are many mentions of health concerns, some for travels, and a few for jobs.
Sometimes when a group shares prayer requests, the focus is more on the news than on prayer, which I fear is one small step removed from gossip. Not so with this group. They share, confident that prayer will follow.
Afterwards they invite us to stay for refreshments. This is not a quick event but an extended one. More people greet us; we must have met just about everyone.
With broad smiles, each one thanks us for visiting and invites us back to their small country church.
They’re hopeful for our return but not pushy. I really like them but don’t want to give false expectations, so I simply respond, “It was good to be here today.” And it was.
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.
Too many people say safe prayers, such as, “God, please guide . . .”
These are safe because no matter what happens, our confidence in God remains
unchallenged. These timid prayers accomplish little. Instead we should make
bold prayers.
Pray with Bold Expectation
A few weeks ago, a friend asked for prayer about finding
a new job. My prayer was bold and specific, filled with expectation.
When I finished, my friend looked at me wide-eyed. “Do
you always pray like that?”
“I like to swing for the fences,” I replied.
He smiled and gave me a nod of comprehension. A few weeks
later, God answered my bold, specific request for my friend. He received a job
offer. Thank you, Jesus!
To “swing for the fences” is an allusion to baseball. In generic terms, this phrase means to go all out, to give it our all. I think that’s what prayer should be like, to put our faith on the line each time we pray.
To swing for the fences when we pray does exactly this.
Prayer Outcomes
Sometimes when we go all out in prayer, we see amazing answers. In our baseball metaphor, we hit a home run.
Other times our prayer doesn’t get the answer we
anticipate (we fail to get on base), or God says “no” (we strike out). These
outcomes stretch our faith, but they also give us the opportunity to grow.
May our prayers be bold, and regardless of the outcome,
may they bring us closer to God and deepen our faith.
Don’t pray prayers where we can’t lose, where our faith remains unchallenged regardless of the outcome. Instead, may we say risky prayers that stretch our faith, that leave no room for failure.
May we say confident, bold prayers, swinging for the fence every time.
Bold Prayers Helps Our Faith Grow
Yes, we will sometime strike out when we pray. Striking
out is discouraging. We’re disappointed—not in God but in ourselves. At least that’s
my perspective.
Why did God not answer the way we expected? Did our heart
not align with his? Perhaps.
Did we not see things the way God saw them? Maybe.
Are there things we don’t understand? Likely.
But these are all chances for our faith to grow.
But other times we get a home run (or at least a base hit) when we pray. These are times for our faith to grow too. We see God’s generous answers to our bold requests, leaving us completely amazed and in awe of him and who he is.
When we pray, regardless of the outcome, it’s a chance for our faith to grow. May we pray with bold confidence, and may our faith grow each time we do.
Don’t make wimpy requests of God. Say bold prayers instead.
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.
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.
Last week I wrote about The Most
Dangerous Prayer in the Bible, at least the prayer containing the most
risky line. It’s a reminder that we must forgive quickly and fully.
Now let’s look at my favorite prayer in the Bible. It’s the prayer of Jabez, found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. It’s a prayer I say most every day. I don’t repeat it because God needs to hear me say it again but to remind myself that I prayed it.
I don’t see Jabez’s request for God’s blessing as a hint at materialism or a prayer of greed. Instead it’s Jabez’s desire to be a blessing to others. The more God blesses him, the more he can bless others.
Again, Jabez’s prayer for more
territory isn’t a pursuit of wanting more for the sake of more, it’s a means of
influence.
Jabez knows that with more territory comes greater influence. And don’t we all want
to influence more people for God?
3. May Your Hand Guide Me
It’s foolish for us to try anything
on our own, doing it our own way. We need the hand
of God to guide us in everything we do.
4. Keep Me from Evil
The request to
keep us from evil is a prayer for protection
and safety. The Lord’s prayer repeats this idea.
5. Not Cause Pain
The final element is to not cause
pain. If anything we do harms others, it’s for naught. The opposite of causing
pain is to do good.
To produce joy, to encourage others, and to promote peace are all good ways to
not cause pain.
The Outcome of My Favorite Prayer
After Jabez prays his short prayer, the Bible records God’s response. I blogged about this here and again here. To me it’s the most comforting phrase in the Bible. It simply says, “God granted his request.”
God answers prayer. That’s so
encouraging. He answered Jabez’s prayer in the past and he can answer our
prayers today, as well as in the future.
When we pray, may our words align
with the heart of God. And may he grant our request.
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.
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.
Forgiveness Is a Serious Thing, and We’re Well Advised to Never Withhold
It
You’re probably familiar with the
Lord’s prayer, sometimes informally called by its opening line as the Our Father.
It’s a well-known passage in the Bible and many Christian traditions recite it as
part of their Sunday worship service.
Growing up in a church that prayed this
prayer in unison every Sunday, I quickly memorized it and could mumble it by rote,
without thinking about the words I said. I suspect I knew the Lord’s Prayer
before I could count or say the alphabet.
Now, however, I seriously consider
the words I say when I quote this prayer. One line alarms me. In fact, it fills
me with fear. It’s dangerous, eternally so.
What is this dangerous line?
It says, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Some translations of the Bible use the word sins, as in “forgive us our sins.” Others use the word trespasses or wrongs. But most say debts.
Forgive Us
In this prayer, we’re asking God to
forgive us. What’s wrong with that?
Yes, this is true. In this common
prayer, we ask God to forgive us. But we’re also asking him to place limits on
the extent to which he can forgive us.
What?
Read it again. Read it carefully.
Check out how God’s Word Translation (GW) renders this line: “Forgive us as we forgive others.”
Don’t Withhold Forgiveness
We’re asking God to forgive us to the degree that we forgive others. This implies that if we withhold forgiveness from other people, we’re letting God know that he can withhold forgiveness from us.
So, if we forgive other people 75 percent of the time, we’re asking God to forgive us 75 percent of the time too.
This thought makes me tremble. My
spirit quakes in trepidation.
It also encourages me to forgive
quickly and to forgive fully.
Though I want to believe that God
won’t do what this prayer requests of him and thereby withhold forgiveness of
us in proportion to our unforgiveness of others, I do wonder.
Forgive Seventy Times Seven
When Jesus tells Peter that we should forgive others, not just a generous seven times, but seventy times seven (literally 490 times), we get a sense that God’s forgiveness of us extends without limit.
But after Jesus tells Peter to not stop forgiving, Jesus launches into a parable about unforgiveness. In this story, the man who refuses to forgive his debtors is given over to torture until he can repay his debt.
Jesus ends this parable with a stern warning: if we don’t sincerely forgive others, God will punish us in the same way.
That’s why I strive to never hold
grudges and to fully forgive people as quickly as possible.
If we don’t forgive others, our future might be at risk.
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.
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.
We Honor God and Obey the Bible When We Share Our Prayer Requests with Others
Prayer is an important part of my life. It’s part of my daily practice and essential for my work and relationships. I daily pray for God’s blessings and provision for my family and close friends.
I also regularly pray for people who read my words, both in this blog and my books.
I pray for you as a group, that God will bless your life and inspire you through what I write in my ministry of words.
I also pray for the people who receive my newsletter updates. Sometimes I call them followers and other times fans, but friends may be the best term of all. Every few months I ask these friends to let me know how I can pray for them specifically.
The Bible tells us to pray for each other (James 5:16), but prayer is something I offer as an act of service. It’s both a joyful privilege and a sacred burden to pray for them when they share their prayer requests with me.
The Global Church of Jesus
As people share their concerns with me, my appreciation for the global church of Jesus grows. We are so beautifully diverse. We come from different cultures, countries, and races. We have various experiences and struggles.
Our perspectives of God may differ, but we share our faith in Jesus.
The prayer requests I get from people in the United States are far different from what I might get from some of my friends in Africa or Asia.
But each prayer request is just as valid and just as real to the person who asks me to pray for them. And it’s just as important to God.
When I pray for my friends around the world, my concerns often seem trivial in comparison. In contrast to them, I live a safe and secure life. Yes, God is a real part of my everyday life, but his provision to ensure my daily existence is not as urgent.
My friends on my mailing list inspire me with their prayer requests. Some have great pains, others share weighty concerns, and many inspire me with their faith and great desire to boldly move into becoming who God wants them to be.
When I pray for them, I am both honored and humbled.
They remind me that we serve a great and powerful 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.
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.
God Gives Us Holy Spirit Inspiration to Guide Us for Our Benefit and His Glory
For the last week, I had planned to write the introduction to my next book. I had the whole thing outlined, and I knew what I wanted to cover in the opening pages. Each day I asked God to give me the right words, but nothing came.
Inspiration eluded me. So instead of working on that book, I worked on another one.
Yesterday morning, during my morning exercise ritual, part of which includes praying, one of my topics for the day was to “Pray for Holy Spirit inspiration.” I prayed.
The words for my uncooperative introduction flooded into my mind. I know from experience that I must capture them immediately or they will quickly fade, eventually disappearing altogether.
I stopped exercising at that moment and sat down in front of my computer. I wrote for the next hour. With my introduction finished I resumed exercising.
I learned the hard way that when I’m inspired to write something—whether directly from the Holy Spirit or indirectly—I must write immediately. If I don’t, I will lose those words and inspiration. And they may not return.
Holy Spirit Inspiration
The Holy Spirit is my writing muse, and I must not ignore him.
Yet the Holy Spirit speaks to me at other times too. Sometimes this is insight for me or to share with another. Other times it’s something I must do.
To my discredit, I’m not always so quick to jump when the Holy Spirit gives me direction. At times I question his words because they make no sense to me, and he needs to tell me twice—sometimes three times. Then I act.
However—and I’m ashamed to admit this—sometimes I don’t act at all. Instead I debate with the Holy Spirit. Surely he didn’t mean what he said, because it makes no sense.
Could it be that I heard wrong? This happens. In the end I talk myself out of following through.
When the Holy Spirit tells me to write, I learned I must do so and do so immediately. I wish I could respond just as quickly when he tells me to do other things.
May I learn to do so and learn quickly.
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.
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.
Accepting What We’re Taught Without Scrutiny May Cause Us to Believe Things That Aren’t True
In the book of Acts, Dr. Luke writes about the Jews that lived in the town of Berea. He called them people with a “more noble character.” What did they do to deserve this label of respect? This was due to their reaction to Paul’s teaching.
Each day they listened attentively to what Paul said, and then they studied their scriptures to see if Paul’s teaching aligned with it. They checked to see if Paul spoke truth (Acts 17:11).
We should follow their example.
Seriously.
If we don’t we’re likely to hold an unexamined theology. In fact, we’re likely to hold many of them. Sometimes an unexamined theology will turn out to be sound, but other times it’s incorrect.
That’s why we need to carefully examine everything we’re taught about spiritual matters and make sure we only accept what the Bible backs.
Consider these three examples.
Unexamined Theology about Prayer
My parents and my church taught me three key requisites to prayer. We must close our eyes, fold our hands, and bow our heads before we pray. When young me asked why, I received a logical explanation. By closing my eyes, I shut myself off from distraction.
By folding my hands, I kept them from wayward movement. And by bowing my head, I showed reverence to God. It made sense. I accepted this is truth and obeyed.
Yet I don’t find any of these praying requirements supported in Scripture.
I’ve not found a biblical command to do these things or even a verse that describes people doing them. But I have found verses of people gazing upward into heaven when they pray (such as Jesus in Mark 7:34).
Even though this isn’t a command, it’s more biblical than the three things I was taught.
Closing our eyes, folding our hands, and bowing our head as part of prayer isn’t in the Bible. It’s an unexamined part of our theology.
Unexamined Theology about Christian Life
Have you ever heard someone say that when you become a Christian, all your problems will go away and life will become easy? I have.
I’ve heard it many times over the years, from well-meaning preachers and earnest proselytizers. But this isn’t in the Bible either.
Instead, Jesus tells us to count the cost and be willing to give up everything to follow him (Luke 14:33). This doesn’t sound like an easy life but a hard one.
Another time Jesus says that we should expect trouble (John 16:33). And James talks about us facing trials, as if it were normal. He tells us to accept these with joy and to persevere (James 1:2-4, 12).
Believing that following Jesus will erase our problems and produce an easy life is another unexamined theology.
Unexamined Theology about God’s Provision
Have you ever heard the phrase, “God helps those who help themselves” or perhaps stated a bit differently, as “the Good Lord helps them who helps themselves.”?
Though it sounds biblical and even offers comfort, it’s not in the Bible either. Yet many people, perhaps most people, think it is.
Though this message of self-sufficiency may play well with the “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” culture of the United States, it’s not a biblically sound concept. Instead we’re supposed to seek God first (Matthew 6:33).
Unexamined Theology about Becoming a Christian
Having an unexamined theology about the proper way to pray is of no damaging consequence. However, holding unexamined theologies about Christian living and God’s provision is more significant.
But the most damaging—perhaps damning—is what people teach about how to become a Christian. Many things loudly proclaimed from the pulpit aren’t in the Bible. These include asking Jesus into our heart or saying the sinner’s prayer.
True, these things may be loosely based on biblical teaching, but they aren’t the requirement many people make them out to be.
Jesus never said these things, but what he did often say is “follow me.” (I cover this in detail in my book How Big is Your Tent?).
Yet I never heard a preacher teach that all we need to do to become a Christian is to follow Jesus.
How much of our theology do we blindly accept as fact when there is no biblical basis for it?
We will do well to follow the example of the Bereans who accepted what they were taught with eagerness but then studied the Scriptures to make sure it was true.
When we do this, it will help us from embracing an unexamined theology that is in error.
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.
