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Bible Insights

Jesus Rends the Veil That Separates Us From God

In the Old Testament, the people perceive the temple as God’s dwelling place here on earth. Therefore, to approach God they need to go to the temple. They worship God there and no place else.

The God in the Old Testament commands it.

In the temple hangs a thick, heavy veil (curtain) that separates the temple’s inner sanctum where God resides (the Holy of Holies) from the regular people, even most of the priests.

The only person who can enter it is one specially selected priest and then only once a year.

Jesus Dies to Change that

At the moment Jesus breathes his final breath the veil in the temple rips in two, symbolically allowing the people direct access to God, without the need for a priest to act as an intermediary.

Additionally the veil tears from top to bottom, from heaven to earth, to show that God initiates it.

This is Jesus’s doing, not man’s.

Now through faith in Jesus we may approach God directly, freely and with confidence. The veil is gone. We have no need for a middleman to act as our liaison to God.

Peter writes that we are now living stones. God actively builds us into a spiritual temple. We are to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices to him.

That is who we are through Jesus.

[Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Ephesians 3:12, 1 Peter 2:5]

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

Why Do I Write on Sunday?

Be Intentional with Your Sunday Activities

Part of how I follow Jesus is to treat Sunday as different from other days. I spend time with other followers of him, both at church and apart from church. I worship him, hopefully in spirit and in truth.

I don’t work or do very little work, not with legalistic fervor but with the attitude that this day is a set apart day to focus on him. I rest and relax. I may spend time with family, go for a walk, read, do a crossword puzzle, or watch a movie. And I write.

For a long time I didn’t write on Sunday, not one word. Since I write for work—even though writing seldom feels like work—writing on Sunday seemed like I was laboring on my set-apart day. I didn’t want that.

But what if I directed my Sunday writing solely towards God? After my habit of writing five days a week, became six when I included Saturday, I later added Sunday, but just temporarily I thought.

It would be just for a season to work on a project about God.

Since I typically write in the morning, my Sunday writing time fell before church.

Soon I realized that writing about God on Sunday morning was my first worship of him for the day—and often my best. It served to center my thoughts on him, preparing me for a day set apart to focus on my Lord and Savior.

Some Sundays, writing was the highpoint of my day, not that my words were great, but that my time with God, as I wrote, was.

When my Sunday morning project ended, I didn’t want to say goodbye to my morning spent with God through writing. So I continued to write each Sunday morning, just as I do every other morning.

Sunday morning is when I write my blog posts for the week, a blog about God, the Bible, and his church. As I write, I focus on God and worship him. For me, that is what Sunday is for—and what he created me to do.

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

Father, Son, and Holy Bible

Don’t Dismiss the Holy Spirit

Most Christians believe that God is three persons in one; we call this concept the Trinity. Though it never uses the word Trinity, the Bible does portray the godhead as three beings who function as one interconnected entity.

Though I believe this and revere this, at times it makes my head spin. The concept of a trinity is hard to grasp: three is one and one is three. It’s so abstract and impossible to quantify.

In practice, some people and especially some churches have trouble with this too. Though they say God is comprised of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they act as though God is Father, Son, and Holy Bible.

They dismiss the Holy Spirit because he messes up their nice modern theology and manageable religious practices; they worship the Bible in his stead.

These people elevate the Bible to an unholy height. They study its words with legalistic fervor, using it to attack others and defend themselves. Their faith shifts to one that worships the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible.

Some people, I fear, even exalt the Bible above the God who it reveals. For them, the Bible isn’t a means to the end, but the end.

Jesus talks about this, too. He criticizes people who diligently study the Bible because they think it gives them eternal life. With their deep focus on the details in the Bible, they miss the God of the Bible.

While the Bible is critical to our faith, let’s not place our faith in the Bible or expect it to provide us with salvation. The Bible is a tool that points us to God, but it is not God. God is not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible.

Let’s put the Bible in its rightful place and God in his.

[John 5:39-40]

How do you view the Bible? The Trinity?

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

A Godly Appreciation of Nature

I enjoy nature and worship God through it, so a verse in Romans gives me pause.

It talks about the error of worshiping created things instead of the Creator. I feel that I can worship God through my appreciation of nature, that I can better appreciate the intangible through the tangible.

Yet this verse seems to say I need to worship God directly, not indirectly through his creation.

It also talks about the error of serving created things rather than the God of creation.

I get that. I can see where a love of nature can cause us to effectively serve nature as we attempt to preserve or promote it. While these intentions are good, they detract us from God.

Though I will not abandon my appreciation of the world God created and my desire to treat it with respect, I will be careful not to let this good thing get in the way of something better: the God of all creation.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Romans 1-4, and today’s post is on Romans 1:25.]

[I rarely dip into Bible commentaries as I study the Bible, but I did for this verse. They offered no help.]

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.

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Bible Insights

Worship God as Holy, Holy, Holy

Give God Our Adoration

The Bible says God is holy, holy, holy, repeating it three times for emphasis to make sure we get the point. God is not merely holy—that is, virtuous—nor is he holy times two, but he is holy times three. He is holy, holy, holy.

When referring to God as holy, holy, holy it is to worship him. This occurs two times in the Bible, appropriately enough once in the Old Testament (Isaiah 6:2-3) and once in the New Testament (Revelations 4:8).

Therefore, both the old covenant and the new covenant view God as holy, holy, holy; it’s not just an Old Testament thing or just a New Testament thing. Furthermore, in Revelation, they say this over and over, never stopping.

The interesting thing is who is worshiping God by calling him “holy, holy, holy.” It is not people but spiritual beings. They are six winged creatures, which Isaiah calls seraphim.

Emerging from the spiritual realm, these beings, who surely know God better than we do, revere him as holy, holy, holy. They acknowledge him as holy, holy, holy. They praise him as holy, holy, holy.

May we do the same.

Read more about the book of Isaiah in For Unto Us: 40 Prophetic Insights About Jesus, Justice, and Gentiles from the Prophet Isaiah available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more in Peter’s devotional Bible study, A New Heaven and a New Earth: 40 Practical Insights from John’s Book of Revelation.

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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Christian Living

Be Careful What We Sing at Church

Be Careful What We Sing at Church

The tempo was upbeat and the song was inviting. Though new to me, I picked it up quickly. On the third time through the chorus, I started really contemplating the words—and I stopped singing.

Really, I did—right in midsentence. The words were wrong.

Though it’s technically illegal for me to quote song lyrics (and I don’t want to out an accomplished songwriter), the gist was that when things go bad, God will immediately rescue us.

I don’t see that happen very often in the Bible. Usually, God waits. I don’t often experience instant resolutions in my own life, either. Usually, he says to be patient.

Yes, God provides, and he does answer my prayers, but he does it in his own way and in his own time. Seldom are the heavy things resolved immediately.

The song paints the expectation of instant gratification. Though appealing to modern society, it’s a bad way to understand God. The song should have said that when things go bad, we need to be patient; in the end, God will come through.

That’s good teaching.

My concern is for people who base their understanding of God from the songs we sing in church. If they believe he will always immediately rescue them, as the song says, will their faith suffer a crisis when their experience is different?

When God tarries, as he sometimes does, will they give up on God and walk away?

I hope not, but I fear so.

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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Christian Living

Why Do We Do the Things We Do?

Most people whose faith is more than in name only, have certain religious rituals as part of their spiritual practices. A common one is church attendance. Another may be giving money or tithing to the church.

Participation in a Bible study, small group, or midweek meeting is a third practice many people pursue. Introspective spiritual activities can include Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, and fasting. I’m sure there are more.

Why do we do these things? Here are some common reasons:

Out of Habit

While habits can be good, an unexamined habit becomes a mindless ritual. God deserves better.

To Avoid Feeling Guilty

While there is a good type of guilt, most guilt is bad. Seek to understand the source of this guilt. If it’s another person – either directly or indirectly—it’s likely a bad guilt.

To Earn God’s Love

The starting point in our relationship with God is that he loves us. We don’t need to earn it; we already have it. There’s nothing we can do to make him love us more. (And nothing we can do to make him love us less.)

To Get God’s Attention

Do we do things to show God how righteous we are in order to get his attention? If we do, first of all, it’s just a show. Second, we already have his attention.

Because the Bible Says To

Citing the Bible as justification for certain actions is noteworthy, but we must be careful. Does the Bible actually say what we think it says? Are we making unwarranted assumptions and jumping to wrong conclusions? Too often the answer is “yes.”

I can claim all of these reasons at one time or another. And they are all wrong. Here are the real reasons we should pursue our various spiritual practices; anything else is futility:

To Express Love to God

God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. We should want to love him back. Remember, we’re not trying to earn his love or get his attention; we’re simply trying to say “I love you, too,” intangible and meaningful ways.

To Worship God

True worship is our ultimate gift to God. Though he doesn’t need our worship, he does deserve it. How we choose to worship him need not be like everyone else, but it should come from our heart.

Loving God and worshiping God may be opposite sides of the same coin. I’m not sure if we can separate the two. The things we do and the things we don’t do should be intentional decisions for the express purpose of loving and worshiping God.

Any other reason falls short.

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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Christian Living

How Do We Worship God?

Celebrate the Savior

Many churches call their Sunday morning services a worship service. Does that mean going to church is worshipping God? I suppose it could be, but I don’t think many people believe that.

Instead, they focus on a particular aspect of the service as worship: the singing part. So singing can be worship. But where does that leave someone like me who can’t sing and doesn’t really even like to try?

I’ve also heard ministers say, “Let’s worship God with our tithes and offerings.” That implies donations are worship.

Except that we’re not giving our money to God but to people who—with varying degrees of success—endeavor to spend it on the things they think are important to God.

I’m all about charity. But because there’s an intermediary with our church donations, it doesn’t feel much like worshiping God but instead supporting a manmade institution.

Here are some other ideas of worship that resonate with me more so than singing and donating:

Help Others

Assisting those in need, either with our time or our money, can be an act of worship.

Appreciate Nature

Enjoying God’s creation affirms the creator and can serve as powerful worship.

Study the Bible

Scouring God’s Word for insights about him and how to serve him may be a viable act of worship.

Pray

As we move our prayers from telling God what we want towards sharing and listening, we approach worship.

Fast

Done with integrity, going without can be another way to worship God; it’s not for us but for him.

Hang Out With God

In all these ways, and many others, we can spend time with God. When our focus is on him, we worship him.

What I do know is that the Bible encourages us to worship God in spirit and in truth. Though I’m still working out what that fully means, it is my goal, my heart’s desire:

To wholly worship God in spirit and in truth. The way I do it is secondary.

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.

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Christian Living

Will the Music in Heaven be Lame?

Worshiping God in the Afterlife

One of the key reasons there are so many churches is that people have different musical tastes and prefer different forms of worship; they pick a church with music they like. Even though I know I shouldn’t, I do, too.

Worship shouldn’t be about what we prefer; it should be about what God deserves. We shouldn’t let music dictate our worship, but we often do.

Some music and songs draw me into worship, where I approach the very throne of God; other music erects a barrier I must fight to overcome.

For some inexplicable reason, I’m part of a denominational level think-tank of sorts.

The other members are wonderful people, who I really like, but they are also modern thinking folks who approach God with a traditional mindset, in a formal manner. I do not.

We often begin each day of our meetings with a worship service, which I tend to skip. One year the worship experience so crushed my spirit that it took most of the day to work past it.

Yeah, worship is supposed to be about God, but I couldn’t push through their formal constructs of it.

This year when I showed up midmorning to begin the day’s meetings, the worship service was winding down, droning on with some really lame music, sounds that repulsed me and evoked a rebellious spirit.

As I waited outside with other nonconformists, I heard the speaker end the service with, “Brothers and sisters, look around you; this is a little bit of what heaven will be like.”

Horrified, my knee-jerk reaction was, If this is what heaven will be like, then I don’t want to be there.

Seriously, that was my first thought.

The reality is that I greatly anticipate heaven. And if the music there is lame, then I will learn to push past it, because that’s what God merits.

However, I think music in heaven will be so compelling, so inviting, so awesome that we’ll yearn to worship God whatever the style may be.

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.

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Christian Living

Are You Being Fed at Church?

It’s Your Job to Spiritually Feed Yourself

Have you ever heard someone grumble about church by saying, “I’m just not being fed”? Perhaps you’ve even said it. I have. However, we’re not talking about physical food, but spiritual sustenance.

When we say this, we sound so righteous, but what we’re really doing is complaining that church doesn’t give us what we want. Where are you being fed?

We too often look at church through the eyes of the modern consumer, demanding church will meet our needs, to give us something in return for our investment of time and money.

When church fails to meet our expectations, our first impulse is to act like a shopper and take our business elsewhere.

However, the main purpose of church isn’t for us to receive what we want; it’s for us to give. We give God what he desires, and we give people what they need. Our goal at church should be to worship God and to serve others.

It’s countercultural today, but it’s what Jesus modeled for us two thousand years ago. Let’s follow his example today.

Yes, sometimes we are hurting, and sometimes we are in need. Then we should go to church to rest and to receive. But our normal, prevailing attitude at church—and everywhere else, for that matter—should be one of giving.

After all, it is better to give than receive. So don’t go to church to get something out of it but with the intent to give something to it: worship God and serve others.

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.