Tag: faith

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Esther Was Not Like Cinderella

I’ve always liked the story of Esther.  She was a peasant girl who won a national beauty pageant and became queen.  In my imagination, I’ve given this tale a Cinderella-like grandness, with Esther and the king, falling in love and living happily ever after.

Alas, the story does not mention love and fails to include any thoughts of happiness.  Let’s review the facts:

  • Esther and her people had been taken captive and forcibly relocated to a foreign land; she was a spoil of war.
  • Esther did not opt to take part in the beauty contest; all attractive virgins were compelled to participate.
  • Esther’s heritage prohibited her from marrying outside her faith; to do so would be a shameful and disobedient act.

Add to this these reasonable conclusions about Esther’s “relationship” with the king:

  • Even after she was made queen, he seemingly continued to enjoy the company of other women in his harem.
  • She was estranged from him; she had not been “summoned” by him for thirty days.
  • She feared him; she could be summarily executed by merely approaching him without permission.

In the New Jerusalem Bible, we are treated to the prayer that she offered in the midst of this.  She says, in part:

  • “I loathe the bed of the uncircumcised” (that would be the king)
  • “I am under constraint” to wear the crown, that is, to be queen
  • “Nor has your servant found pleasure from the day of her promotion until now”
  • “Free me from my fear”

Sadly, there is no love, happiness, joy, or satisfaction in her role as queen.  Even so she did use her unwanted position to save her people, the Jews, from a certain annihilation. 

So this account of Esther isn’t a love story, at least not in the traditional sense.  It is, however, a tale of valor and bravery — and a reminder that one person can make a difference.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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John the Baptizer

John (referred to as John the Baptizer) was Jesus’ cousin and a couple of months older.  John preceded Jesus in ministry, pointing people to Jesus.

John did his work admirably and without fault, albeit amidst criticism.  He was eventually imprisoned because of what he said.

With all the amazing things Jesus did and the miracles he preformed, you’d think that he would have freed John from jail.  He could have, yet he didn’t.  At least he could have visited his cousin, yet that doesn’t appear to have happened either.

So, John is sitting in jail, pondering his fate (he would soon be executed); his faith in Jesus begins to waver.  We know this because in what is likely the darkest days of his life, he sends his followers to Jesus, asking if Jesus is the “one” or if they should be expecting someone else.

John seemingly wants validation for his work and confirmation that his life of service to Jesus was not in vain.

Jesus replies, providing John with the assurance that he sought.

Sometimes God acts strangely, not giving us what we want or expect, but he does give us what we need — just like he did for John.

[See Matthew 11:3-6.]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

The One About the Fig Tree

Have you ever heard the story about Jesus and the fig tree?

Jesus is heading into Jerusalem and is hungry.  Seeing a fig tree, he searches its foliage for something to eat.  Finding nothing, he seems to get a tad irritated, declaring that it will never again produce fruit.

The fig tree withers and his disciples are amazed.  Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach them about praying in faith (Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, 20-26).

I agree with that lesson; it is astonishing, remarkable, and encouraging.

However, I also have a secondary thought about this story.  The purpose of the fig tree is to produce fruit.  When Jesus finds no fruit, he dismisses it and the tree dies; his disciples say that he cursed it.

As followers of Jesus, we are also supposed to bear fruit.  If we do not bear fruit, will Jesus dismiss us as well?

This is a sobering thought and one that is reinforced when Jesus says that he is a vine, we are his branches, and he cuts off all branches that don’t bear fruit (John 15:1-8).

If this leaves you a bit flummoxed, balance this concern with the assurance, found in the next verse, that Jesus loves us (John 15:9).

So, pray in faith, produce fruit, and know that you are loved.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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How Does Salvation “Work”?

In one of Paul’s letters, he says something that is quite curious and strange.  He tells readers to “work out your salvation.” [Philippians 2:12]

Ugh?  Didn’t Paul also write that we are saved through faith and not by our “work” (that is, not of our own doing or striving)?  [Ephesians 2:8-9]

So, if we can’t earn our salvation, why do we need to work it out?  Is Paul confused?  Is he schizophrenic?  Is this a paradox?

Actually, I think it’s a matter of timing.

First, we need to follow Jesus — by faith.  We don’t need to do anything else to get God’s attention or earn his affection.  There is no working involved in being made right with God.  That means it’s a gift — we didn’t buy it and can’t earn it; it was given.

The second part is our response.  Out of sheer gratitude for the gift, we can opt to respond by behaving differently.  I think this is what it means to “work out our salvation,” that is, to cultivate it or complete it.

Consider what if I gave you a million dollars.  Would your attitude towards me change?  I think so.  You might want to find out more about me, learn why I did it, and maybe help me in my future philanthropic efforts.

In essence you might be working out my gift to you.  It’s still a gift, but one that evokes a grand response.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

The Armor of God

In the Bible, there is the instruction to “put on the full armor of God.”

To the casual reader, this might seem like a call to arms or a provocation for military action.

Yet I don’t see this as a militant statement, but merely a memory aid to help people remember key items needed to prevail in spiritual conflict, namely: truth, righteousness, sharing the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God (the only offensive tool of the group).

Paul, in Ephesians 6:11-17, seems to be painting a word picture using the soldier of the day (which readers would have been most familiar with) connecting his essential gear with these key spiritual elements.

Then, to recall Paul’s list of six items, readers needed only to envision a soldier in uniform and associate each spiritual element with its physical counterpart.  For example:

  • Belt: truth
  • Breastplate: righteousness (that is, right living)
  • Shoes: a readiness to share the gospel of peace
  • Shield: faith
  • Helmet: salvation
  • Sword: the word of God (the spoken word of God)

It’s not about a physical fight (which many people have missed throughout the ages), but instead a spiritual conflict for which followers of Jesus must be prepared to engage in using: truth, righteousness, sharing the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Bible. 

This is what is meant by the metaphor of the armor of God.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

By Law or By Faith

In what initially seems to be shocking statement, Jesus says that if we want to have eternal life, we must follow the commandments in the Old Testament (Matthew 19:17).

Of course, this is impossible, because if we break even one law, one time, we are found guilty and therefore separated from God.  Clearly, following rules is not the solution.

So what is?  The realistic answer is that we need to turn from our wrong-doing and follow Jesus by faith, who took the hit for our law-breaking, making us right with God.  Even Abraham, was made right with God through his faith, not by following a bunch of rules (Galatians 3:6).

For further contemplation, this contrast between the law (following rules) and faith (following Jesus) is expanded upon and explained in greater detail in Galatians 3, especially verses 10-11,19, and 21-22.  Also see Ephesians 2:8.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

What Are You Afraid Of?

Jesus is sleeping in a boat; the disciples are crossing the lake. A major strong whips up and the disciples are overwhelmed—remember that several of them were fishermen, so it must have been a bad one to scare them.

In a panic, they wake up Jesus.

He says, “You have little faith; why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:23-27).

Upon contemplation, this question of Jesus is eye opening.

Jesus implies that fear is a symptom of faithlessness. Conversely, if we have faith, there should be no reason to fear.

When we have fears—and we all do—we need to, in faith, give them to Jesus and trust him to take care of us.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Sarah Laughs at God

In Genesis 18:10-15 we read the amazing story of Sarah being promised a son in her old age. When she hears this, she laughs—I would to; it seems preposterous (but for an all-powerful God, nothing is impossible). 

In fact, God rhetorically asks Abraham (Sarah’s even older husband) “Is anything too hard for [me]?”

Sarah’s laughter at God’s promise may have been delight, but more probable, it was doubt. Even so, God did as he promised and Isaac was born to Sarah and Abraham within the year.

Despite Sarah’s laughter over what was humanly impossible, God later commends her for having faith, Hebrews 11:11. Although she doubted, she apparently had enough belief so that God would later esteem her for her faith.

We may not have immense faith, but a little faith, even with some doubt sprinkled in, is enough for God.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.