Contrary to the Law of Moses King David Reassigns the Duties of the Levites
In the book of Numbers, Moses details the assignments and responsibilities of the tribe of Levi, mentioning them over fifty times.
Though the priests, descendants of Aaron, are from this tribe, the rest of the Levites have God-assigned responsibilities too.
Chief among them is taking down, moving, and setting up the tabernacle and related elements of worship. They must do this each time God’s people move camp as they wander about in the wilderness.
The nation of Israel spends about four decades in the desert, sometimes moving frequently and other times not so much. This keeps the Levites busy.
Then they get to the promised land, conquer it, and occupy it. No longer is there a need to disassemble, transport, and reassemble the tabernacle.
What do the Levites do now that their primary job is irrelevant? That’s a good question.
Over four hundred years later, some four centuries with the Levites having nothing to do, King David arrives on the scene. He reassigns the Levites to new tasks that relate to worshiping God.
Who does David think he is to countermand the commands of Moses, as received from God?
It seems ill-advised to ignore what’s in Scripture—God’s written word—and replace it with something that makes better sense to us. But this is precisely what David did.
Though we could concoct a principal from this and say that when Scripture—God’s past commands—no longer makes sense in the present, we are free to change them.
Just like David did. Yet, I’m not going to go there. I think it’s an overstretch, a misapplication.
Remember, after all, David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). That’s significant.
Whenever I encounter something in the Bible that doesn’t make sense, I don’t ignore it. Instead I meditate on it. I ask the Holy Spirit to supernaturally explain it to me.
Sometimes he does so right away, in other instances it takes a few days, and on occasion I wait for years.
But until God instructs me otherwise, I’ll hold to what the Bible says and apply it the best I can to my life and our culture today.
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.
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Last week in my post, How Important is Knowledge?, I noted that many in our society—and the Western Church—esteem knowledge above all else, while Paul says that love is more important. That is, love matters.
In another place Paul elevates love over several other things as well, such as supernaturally using other languages, giving prophetic words, having spiritual discernment, exercising deep faith, possessing a giving heart, and enduring physical hardship.
Although these things have value, they aren’t as important as simply loving one another. In fact, without love, these other things don’t even matter, not really.
I’ve often seen well-intended followers of Jesus seek an impartation of supernatural gifts, especially speaking in tongues, but I’ve never seen anyone ask for more love.
Yet if we really believe what Paul says, that love matters, then love should be the first thing we ask for.
After all, Paul does say that love is the greatest thing of all.
Read more in Peter’s book, Love is Patient(book 7 in the Dear Theophilus series).
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.
As the Israelites prepare to enter the territory God promises to give them. Moses, relaying God’s words to the people, gives them a stern warning.
Though God plans to give the land to his people, they must do their part to fully receive it. They must obey God.
He expects them to drive out the inhabitants, destroy their detestable religious practices, and take the land. Then they can settle down. Of course God will help his people do this, directing their actions and offering supernatural assistance.
Yet they must do their part.
If the Israelites fail to do so, it will come back on them. The people they were supposed to chase away will eventually become the source of their downfall.
These foreigners will cause problems and distract God’s people so that they don’t obey him and don’t put him first as they should. They will be a snare.
But They Didn’t Obey God
If this happens, the punishment intended for these foreign nations will boomerang on the Israelites.
We know the rest of the story. They do not fully chase away the other nations; they do not fully take the land. They coexist with their enemies, intermarry, and adopt their foreign religious practices, something that is an anathema to God.
God gives them chance after chance. And though there are times of revival, they are short-lived. After several centuries of mostly disobedience, God does exactly what he warns them he will do.
Because of their failure to drive out the other nations, they are themselves driven out—first the nation of Israel and later the nation of Judah.
The people hear God’s instructions, but they only partially obey, which is the same as disobedience. There are consequences.
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.
Audience: Jewish leaders (members of the Sanhedrin)
Preceding Events: Stephen supernaturally does many miracles and amazing things. The opposition stirs up trouble, has him arrested, and persuades others to lie about him.
Overall Theme: Stephen gives a concise historical overview from Abraham up to Jesus. Throughout this history, God is at work.
Central Teaching: The Jewish people miss seeing God at work, resist the Holy Spirit, and reject Jesus, just as they did the prophets before him.
Subsequent Events: Stephen is Martyred, brutally killed by a mob.
Being bold for Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit does not always guarantee our safety or a happy outcome.
In Stephen’s case, his words to tell others about Jesus don’t have the desired impact of them deciding to follow Jesus. Though the crowd is motivated by his message, they have the opposite reaction and instead kill the messenger, literally.
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.
[This personal essay first appeared in The Transformation Project: A West Michigan Word Weavers Anthology.]
A caterpillar turns into a butterfly; a tadpole becomes a frog. People can change too. We call it transformation. Here’s my story.
1. The Bible Matters
We moved between fourth and fifth grade. I didn’t learn much at my new school. I was far ahead in most subjects, especially Math.
However, I lagged in English, especially grammar, sending me on a lifelong quest to grasp it. Given that I ended up an author, and not a mathematician as planned, this ironic twist amuses me.
How I managed to earn A’s in English remains a mystery.
Teachers give more attention to students on the fringe, both those who struggle and those who shine. Since I stood out in most areas, my teacher gave me more attention.
Although I didn’t learn much academically that year, she gave me something more important, something life changing: an enhanced self-image.
Succinctly, I began fifth grade as an above average student who believed he was average. I ended the year as an above average student, convinced he was exceptional. This single readjustment of my self-perception forever altered my life.
No longer did I seek to merely get by in school, to take the easy way out. Learning changed from drudgery to delight. I desired to excel.
My newfound interest in education spilled over into religion, as I devoured faith-friendly books—both fiction and nonfiction. Later, I became intentional about reading Scripture. I loved my pursuit of biblical knowledge.
Soon I read the New Testament, and a couple of years later I covered the entire Bible over summer vacation. This sparked a life-long passion of digging for truth in God’s word.
As strange as it sounds, a secular schoolteacher provided the catalyst for my first transformation: an overall desire to learn, which spilled over to an intellectual pursuit of God.
2. The Vast Diversity of Jesus’s Church
I grew up attending two small, mainline denominational churches, where church was a traditional experience: stoic, reserved—and boring. I had trouble connecting faith with church.
What I read in the Bible didn’t much match what I experienced on Sunday. Perhaps changing churches would solve my dilemma.
After high school, I veered evangelical.
At this new church, aside from seeing young adults my age excited about faith and happy to go to church, two other things astounded me: the music and the sermon. Both were fresh and inviting. This sparked a spiritual rejuvenation in me.
My old church had effectively put God in a box. As I migrated to a different doctrine, I had to escape my old theology. This resulted in a newfound freedom to comprehend God afresh.
My faith leapt forward when I came to this church, completing a shift in my focus from an intellectual pursuit of God to a personal relationship with Jesus.
My new church, however, also put God in a box, even smaller and more confining.
Their box, fundamental in construction, lacked love and excelled at judgment. Their idea of godly living existed as rules. Theirs was a heavy load and not freeing.
Jesus proclaimed the opposite: a light burden and gentle yoke. He offered rest from the religious regulations of the day—not bondage to them.
This church’s doctrine was narrow, dogmatic to an extreme. Pastoral opinion, uttered as fact, allowed for no disagreement. They isolated themselves from most of Christianity, turning up their religious nose at the unity Jesus prayed for.
At first, I didn’t see their error, but when I did, it became an oppressive weight. A spiritual angst welled up inside. I craved escape.
My second transformation occurred not when I joined this church or when I left it, but in the realization that Jesus’s church is more than one gathering, one denomination, or even one faith perspective (be it mainline, evangelical, or charismatic; Protestant or Catholic).
The church of Jesus, with its many branches, is diverse and wonderful. He prayed we would be one (John 17:20-21)—and I began to embrace that too.
Jesus’s church is huge—and I’m glad I’m part of it.
3. Learning to Feed Myself
I wasn’t being fed spiritually, so I switched churches. My reason sounded so spiritual, but my claim revealed immaturity.
Unable to feed myself, I expected my pastor to do it for me. I was a baby Christian, only able to drink milk and not eat solid food (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).
Though I read the Bible daily, prayed most days, and had a relationship with Jesus, I expected my pastor to shovel enough spiritual sustenance into me each Sunday to sustain me for the week. I didn’t know how to do this myself.
Even worse, I didn’t realize I was supposed to. Isn’t that what we pay our ministers to do?
The pastor at this church had a different view. He explained I needed to feed myself—and then showed me how. Soon I learned what to do, no longer relying on him to nourish me.
I discovered how to listen to God, hearing his words and direction. I grew as a person of prayer and faith. My intimacy with God deepened, overwhelming me with peace and joy.
Learning to feed myself spiritually marked my third transformation, establishing the basis for the next one.
4. Holy Spirit
I joined with a group of believers who were diligently seeking more from their faith. We immersed ourselves in learning about the Holy Spirit. I was ecstatic about the new truths we learned.
After a time, with my friends gathered, I asked the Holy Spirit to indwell me, to take over my life, and envelop me. They stretched out their hands and prayed for me—and nothing happened.
What went wrong?
Discouraged over this non-event, only later did I realize I’d already done this.
Decades prior, while still in high school, one of the things I read was a little blue booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws. I studied it carefully and eagerly said the prayer they suggested.
I raced through it to reach the end, seeking what I needed to do. With excitement, I invited the Holy Spirit into my life and to fill me. A powerful wave of God’s love engulfed me, a warm supernatural whoosh. Life made sense.
Everything came into focus. God emerged for me as a vibrant, real presence.
After a few days, however, my supernatural bliss evaporated. My spirit-filled euphoria was gone. Dejected, I returned to my tiny booklet to reclaim that feeling but without success. I tossed it aside and soon forgot it.
Though I failed then to comprehend it, the Holy Spirit had been quietly active in my life ever since but without my awareness. I thought supernatural insights and promptings were normal for all Christians.
Now that I understood the scope of his influence, I became intentional about listening to and following the Holy Spirit’s lead. Nowadays we work together as a team—at least most of the time.
My fourth transformation embraced the person of the oft-forgotten member of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
5. Jesus’s Healing Power
The opportunity for another change came when a group of like-minded Jesus followers launched a healing room. This required a bold step forward, both for our group and for us as individuals.
We went to training and we practiced what we learned, initially on each other and eventually applying it to others, timidly at first and then with greater confidence—not in ourselves but in God’s amazing power. Our faith in action moved forward.
This stretched me spiritually, and I savored my new insights into God and the grandeur of who he is.
Jesus, we learned, came to heal and to save. Two thousand years ago, the masses clamored for his healing power, but most missed his saving power.
Today, Christians in the Western world see Jesus as savior but dismiss him as healer. I embrace both—and with unapologetic passion.
Each week our team would gather to worship God and listen for his instructions. Then we’d open our doors to offer prayer and healing. There I experienced firsthand what I’d only read about.
God used us to heal people: emotionally, spiritually, and physically—sometimes gradually and sometimes immediately.
As we worked together, we taught and encouraged one another, learning to rely on the Holy Spirit for direction and power. My fifth transformation had begun, never complete but always moving forward.
6. A Mission to Spread the Word
I started college when I was sixteen. Twenty-seven years later, I finally finished—or so I thought—with a PhD in Business Administration.
I never went full time but always fit my classes and homework around a full-time job, usually while working forty-five to fifty-five hours a week.
Along the way, I made many sacrifices. To my dismay, this included giving up time with family. When my last diploma arrived, my wife asked, “Are you finally finished?” I assured her I was.
But God had other plans.
A few years later, he whispered to me, “Go back to school.” He didn’t say when, where, or why. He simply said, “Go.” The rest was up to me. Since God was doing the telling, I figured my studies should have a spiritual focus.
Both dismayed and elated at the prospect of more formal education, I moved forward, but my quest was a long one. It took five years, but I graduated with a second PhD, this one in Pastoral Ministry, of all things.
My dissertation explored church unity. The topic drew me in, with increasing fervor. I could not let go of its persistent grasp. The unity of Jesus’s church became my passion.
Writing my dissertation also sparked something else deep inside my soul. Although I’d been writing most of my life, for the first time my writing intersected with my faith.
Until then, I’d spent decades writing about business and for business. But now, being a wordsmith had a greater purpose. I ceased trying to write quickly for work and began striving to write with quality for God. My words had a higher calling.
My passion to write about godly things exploded into a calling I could not shake. Soon I wondered if my next career would be as a writer. As I studied and practiced and improved, I knew verbalizing my intention was the next step.
At a mere whisper, my words, “I am a writer,” released an inner desire to write for God. Then I spoke, again, this time a little louder, “I am a writer.” Self-doubt retreated. But I needed to make a firm declaration.
“I am a writer!” I bellowed with confidence. And so I was. My sixth transformation, as a writer on a mission for God, was set in motion.
7. The Final Transformation
I don’t know what the future holds or if an additional transformation awaits me. There is one, however, I can be sure of: death.
I will one day die, and my ultimate transformation will take place. My body—where my soul and spirit reside—will cease to function. My essence will find release, no longer imprisoned in the physical realm, no longer bound by time.
My spirit, the essential me, will transform into something wonderful, amazing, and everlasting—not for personal glory or self-aggrandizement, but for eternal communion with my Creator, worshiping and experiencing true spiritual intimacy with the King of Transformation.
Then my transformation will be complete. I will finally be home.
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.
Here’s the situation. The prophet Samuel is dead. God has abandoned King Saul, and the once-promising ruler is losing his grip on power. Saul prays, but God doesn’t respond.
None of the ways Saul has heard from God in the past are working now. In desperation, he seeks a medium.
In his better days as God’s king, Saul expelled all the mediums and spiritualists from the country. Now he wants one. It’s his last option for supernatural guidance.
His aids tell him there is a medium in Endor. Some versions of the Bible call her a witch.
In disguise, Saul seeks her out. She is cautious, fearing execution if her skills become known. He persists, promising her safety. After some persuasion, she relents. Saul asks her to conjure up the spirit of Samuel. She does.
Then she realizes who Saul is—the king who outlawed and ousted everyone in her line of work. She screams at Saul because of his deception, but he urges her to proceed and serve as a link to connect him with Samuel.
For Samuel’s part, he’s not pleased at having his existence in the afterlife disturbed. He’s likely happy there and wants to remain there, not be sucked back toward the physical realm.
Samuel confirms it’s too late for Saul. God has left him for good. Furthermore, Samuel says the next day Saul and his sons will die in battle. The nation will be lost.
Saul is distraught, losing what little hope he has left. The medium of Endor urges him to eat, and she prepares a meal for him.
Saul eats and then leaves. The next day, Saul and his three sons die—his boys in battle and Saul by suicide.
Not all that’s spiritual is good. The medium of Endor is one such example. When our prayers seem to go nowhere, do we keep our focus on God or seek unwise alternatives?
Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, 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.
Ezekiel Prophesies to Dry Bones and Breathes Life into Them
One of the most evocative images in the book of Ezekiel is him speaking to dry bones scattered before him. It’s a valley of dry bones.
The bones animate and reassemble. Tendons connect them. Flesh covers the skeletons. Breath enters these reconstituted bodies, mere corpses, and they live again.
It’s powerful imagery, the dead becoming alive. But what does it mean?
Fortunately, God explains it to Ezekiel
The bones represent the people of Israel. They are dried up. Their hope is gone. Cut off. Effectively, they are dead.
God will open their graves, resurrecting them to bring them home.
In addition to restoring their physical life, he will give them a spiritual life too. He will put his spirit in them. Then they will live. Truly live.
As with most prophecies, this one contains multiple applications.
Israel
The first is for his audience of that day, Israel. The people overflow with discouragement and are without hope. God reminds them that they can place their hope in him. He will restore them as a nation and bring them back from captivity and return them to the land he promised for them.
Jesus
We can also see this passage looking forward prophetically to Jesus. Consider two items: the prophecy of graves opening and God putting his spirit in his people so they can truly live.
When Jesus dies the curtain in the temple rips in half from top to bottom, symbolically allowing us to directly approach God. There is an earthquake and tombs break open.
Bodies of many holy people come to life. We don’t know who they are or have a count, just that there are many, and they lived holy lives (Matthew 27:51-53).
Next, consider Pentecost. Jesus’s squad waits in Jerusalem for the special gift that Papa will send them.
A violent wind sounds. Something like tongues of fire hover over each person. And the Holy Spirit fills them with supernatural power (Acts 2:1-4).
End Times
In John’s epic vision as recorded in the book of Revelation, we also see dead bodies become alive (Revelation 11:7-11 and Revelation 20:11-13), just like Ezekiel said.
To wrap things up, the Holy Spirit and Jesus invites them—and us—to come and receive the gift of life (Revelation 22:17).
These are some of the key things we can learn from Ezekiel and the valley of dry bones.
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.
With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #20.
Although I’m uncomfortable in situations where language differences make conversation hard, if not impossible, something about this church draws me. Despite not knowing Mandarin, I want to return.
My language limitation did not limit my worship of God. He was present and his presence enthralled me.
Experiencing the singing in Mandarin provided a time of deep worship. I wonder if this is unique to Mandarin or this congregation—or if perhaps hearing God worshiped in any language would affect me the same way.
If I do return, I’ll first ask friends to pray that I’ll be able to supernaturally understand the message.
It seems like a big, bold request to make, but God can do that, of this I’m confident. And if he doesn’t, it will still be a wonderful time because our focus will be on him regardless of the language we use.
With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can worship God despite the language or language barriers. Even if we don’t understand the words, we can still connect with the Almighty in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23).
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.
Resurrections Occur in Both the Old and New Testaments
In the Bible, dead people return to life. This happens on ten occasions, with three resurrections occurring in the Old Testament and seven times in the New.
Check out these stories of people supernaturally raised from the dead.
1. Son of a Widow in Zarephath
The first person the Bible records as raised from the dead is the son of a widow in Zarephath. Her boy gets sick, his illness gets worse, and he dies. The woman lashes out at Elijah, blaming him and God.
Elijah shoves aside her hurtful words. He goes to where the boy’s body lays, and he cries out to God. Three times he stretches himself over the dead body and asks God to return the child’s life.
God does, and the boy’s mother affirms Elijah (1 King 17:17-24).
2. Shunammite Woman’s Son
Elijah’s successor, Elisha, also raises a boy from the dead. The boy labors in the field with his father and gets a headache. The pain intensifies, and at noon the boy dies.
His mother, a Shunammite woman, searches for Elisha and tells him what happened.
He sends his servant Gehazi to go to lay Elisha’s staff on the boy to bring him back to life. Gehazi tries but is unsuccessful. When Elisha arrives, he prays to God and lays on top of the boy.
The boy’s dead body begins to warm. Elisha paces the room a bit and tries again.
The boy sneezes seven times, and his eyes open. He’s alive (2 Kings 4:18–37).
3. An Unnamed Man
In one of the more bizarre resurrections, a dead man’s body is hastily thrown into Elisha’s tomb. When the dead body touches Elisha’s bones, it comes to life and stands up, very much alive (2 Kings 13:20–21).
These are the three resurrections that occur in the Old Testament, one from Elijah and two from Elisha, albeit the second one after Elisha’s death.
Interestingly, when Elisha gets ready to succeed Elijah, Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
God grants it, and we see it come to pass, with Elijah raising one person to life and Elisha resurrecting two (2 Kings 2:9–12).
4. Son of a Widow from Nain
In the New Testament, Jesus goes to the town of Nain. He sees a funeral possession and stops it. He tells the grieving mother, who is also a widow, to not cry.
He commands the dead boy’s body to get up. The corpse sits up and talks (Luke 7:11–17).
5. Jairus’s Daughter
Another time, a synagogue leader, Jairus, begs Jesus to come to his house to heal his sick girl. Jesus agrees but another hurting person delays him along the way.
Before he can get to Jairus’s house, the girl dies. Jesus tells Jairus to not worry and believe.
When Jesus arrives, he proclaims to the mourners gathered that she isn’t dead but merely sleeping. They mock him, knowing that she’s dead. Jesus takes her hand and tells her to get up.
Life flows back into her body and she stands (Luke 8:40–56).
6. Lazarus
Lazarus is sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, send for Jesus to come heal their ailing brother. Jesus doesn’t leave right away, and Lazarus dies.
By the time Jesus shows up, Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. After interacting with the two mourning sisters, Jesus goes to the tomb were Lazarus’s body lays.
Jesus tells them to unseal the tomb, but the people object. They worry about the stench from Lazarus’s decaying body. But eventually they roll away the stone, unblocking the entrance to the tomb.
Jesus commands Lazarus to come out. Lazarus does (John 11:1–44).
7. Many Holy People in Jerusalem
When Jesus dies, the curtain in the temple rips in half, the earth quakes, and tombs crack open. The bodies of many holy people buried in the cemetery come to life. They experience resurrection.
We don’t know their names or how many there are, but their reappearance would surely have astounded everyone (Matthew 27:50–53).
This mass resurrection symbolically shows Jesus’s victory over death, confirmed by many people rising from the dead. We see Jesus raising three specific people from the dead, along with many more who had lived holy lives.
8. Tabitha/Dorcas
In the early church, Peter also raises someone from the dead. Her name is Tabatha, also called Dorcas, and she lives in Joppa. When she dies the people in her hometown send for Peter.
When he arrives, he kneels and prays. Then he turns to the dead woman and tells her to get up. She opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. Everyone is amazed (Acts 9:36–42).
9. Eutychus
Paul raises someone from the dead too, Eutychus. As Paul speaks to the people gathered, Eutychus, who sits in a window, falls asleep, and tumbles three stories to his death.
Paul rushes down and throws his arms around the young man. He proclaims him alive. Then they celebrate (Acts 20:7–12).
Jesus’s victory over death changes everything forever. By rising from the dead, he takes that power away from the devil and frees us from the grip of death (Hebrews 2:14–17).
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.
With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #11.
At this charismatic church, most of the attendees were middle-aged adults. The few youth present weren’t engaged in the worship or the message, as they measured time until they could leave.
This disappointed me. They lacked the supernatural fire of their parents, who seem to have failed at passing their faith unto the next generation.
When I think of charismatic, several words come to mind: passionate, alive, and free. I didn’t see much of that, which left me confused. Sadly, this scenario would repeat at some of the other charismatic churches, too.
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.
