Category: Bible

Posts from The Bible Blog, by Peter DeHaan

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Bible

What Sycamore Tree Do You Need to Climb?

There was a man in Jericho who was boss of the people who collected taxes; he was quite rich. He wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus, but couldn’t because he was a short rascal and the taller people blocked his view.

Ever resourceful, he ran ahead of the throng and climbed a tree; it was a sycamore. From his perch he watched Jesus walk towards him. The view was great and he finally achieved his objective; he got to see Jesus.

When Jesus reached the tree he glanced up and said, “Hey, dude, can I hang out at your place?

Not only did Shorty, as known as Zacchaeus, get to see Jesus, but he would soon have some one-on-one time. That was quite a reward for his diligence (Luke 19:1-10).

Although we don’t need to literally climb a sycamore tree to see Jesus, I wonder if it can be a metaphor for us to do whatever we need to do to see him. Maybe we need to slow down, not work so much, or watch less TV.

Perhaps a relationship is in our way or the desire to accumulate money, power, and prestige. Or could it simply be that we’re in our own way, stubborn, closed-mind, or procrastinating.

Perhaps each of us has our own “sycamore tree” that we need to climb to see Jesus.

What would you add to the list?

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

Why Do We Ask For Our Daily Bread?

Jesus taught his disciples to ask God for their daily bread, that is, the food they needed for the day.

Just as God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, the implication is God will meet our needs each day.

We are not to ask for enough for the week, the month, or the whole year, but for only one day, today. Tomorrow we will need to ask again.

The instruction to ask daily isn’t because God is only powerful enough to supply our need for one day, but because God doesn’t want us to take him for granted. And if we seek him each day, that’s not likely to happen.

Plus, I think he enjoys hearing from us each morning.

[Exodus 16:14-32 and Matthew 6:11]

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 is Manna?

When the nation of Israel was in the desert, God provided food for them each day. The Israelites called it manna and it miraculously appeared every morning.

The manna would provide them with the sustenance they needed for that day. If they tried to gather extra and stockpile it, it would turn bad (except for the Sabbath). God gave them what they needed for that day but no more; it was essentially their daily bread.

Later on, Jesus instructed his disciples to pray for God to give them their “daily bread.” The disciples surely connected that with Moses and the manna in the desert, and as a result they were assured God would faithfully provide for them each day.

This is just one of many amazing ways the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are connected.

Manna is the daily bread that God faithfully provides.

[Exodus 16:14-32 and Matthew 6:11]

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 Does Jesus Want Us to Forgive?

In my post Be Careful What You Pray I mention a line in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Different groups have different wording for this line. There are three I’ve run into:

1. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The word debt, conjures up thoughts of loans and money. That limits what Jesus meant and isn’t helpful.

2. “Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The word trespass evokes walking uninvited on someone’s property. That’s not helpful either. (However, the dictionary gives a broader understanding of both these words.)

3. “Forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” To me, sin is the word that conveys the full impact of this phrase, but I understand some people are put off by that word.

I recently heard a fourth version, which I like for its clarity:

4. “Forgive us for the wrongs we have done, as we have forgiven those who have wronged us.”

That connects with me. I hope one of these four versions connects with you. Now we just need to pray it — and do it.

[Matthew 6:12]

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

Can You Be Quiet?

We live in a world where it’s hard to sit still and even more challenging to be silent.

We are conditioned to be moving, active and physically engaged. And as we do so, we expect to be surrounded with sound, to be constantly exposed to auditory stimulus.

To be still can be a stretch for us and to be quiet, quite unattainable. Many would ask, “What’s the purpose of being still?” “Why should I be quiet?” There’s nothing to be gained by doing so.

But God has a different idea. He says “Be still and I know that I am God.” And upon reflection, King David adds, “Silence is praise to you.”

Being still connects us with God and being quiet praises him.

Be still…be quiet…

[Psalm 46:10 and Psalm 65:1]

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

Make Praise Your Habit

If your experience is like mine, you likely know people who are chronic complainers. They seem to be always venting about something that went badly or someone who did them wrong. Negativity is their default mode; their glass is half empty.

Their nearly constant negativity makes them hard to be around. Their complaining attitude can be contagious and if we’re not careful they can rub off on us.

This is in sharp contrast to people who are generally positive, who see the good in life and in circumstances. These folks are fun to be around. Their attitude is uplifting and encouraging, and also contagious. We want their positive demeanor to rub off on us.

Now consider God and us. Do we tend to complain to him, telling him all that is wrong with our lives? Or are we mostly positive, thanking him for all the good that surrounds us?

I wonder if the chronic complainers aren’t God’s favorite people to be around either. Likewise I suspect he delights in those who are thankful.

This thought will surely reform my prayers. After all, the Bible says, “make praise your habit.”

[Psalm 64:10]

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 is Eternal Death?

Since eternal life is the result of following Jesus, what’s the alternative? Might “eternal death” be the opposite?

If eternal life starts immediately when we begin our journey with Jesus, does eternal death start as soon as someone rejects him?

If eternal life results in heaven, doesn’t eternal death result in hell?

Some opine that eternal death is merely physical death; when the bodies dies, that person is forever gone; their spirit does not live on; it dies too. Death is the end.

However, that’s not my understanding. You can’t have the promise of heaven without the possibility of hell.

For those who follow Jesus, eternal life begins here and now when they align with him. When their body dies, their spirit continues on, enjoying eternal life in heaven.

For those who don’t follow Jesus, eternal death begins here and now when they disregard him. When their body dies, their spirit continues on, suffering eternal death in hell.

[See verses about eternal death in the Amplified Bible, the Message, and the New Living Bible]

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 is Eternal Life?

The phrase “eternal life” occurs 42 times in the Bible. What exactly then is eternal life?

Some suggest eternal life is synonymous with heaven. If we believe in Jesus, we will go to heaven when we die. That is eternal life.

That’s a good start to our understanding of eternal life, but that’s not all there is to it; there’s more.

As I read the Bible, I see eternal life beginning now, here in this world. We learn this from the apostle John, whose references to eternal life are often present tense.

When we follow Jesus, eternal life begins immediately, right now, today. Eternal life begins here on earth through Jesus and continues into heaven when our physical bodies die.

If you follow Jesus, you cab enjoy eternal life today.

[See verses about eternal life in the NIV Bible. Also see John 5:24, John 3:14-21, John 5:39-40, and John 3:34-36.]

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

Considerations of Good

When a man asks Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life,” he is showing proper respect for Jesus by calling him good.

Jesus, however, is quick to assert that only God is truly good.

If ever anyone deserved the label of “good, it was Jesus.” But instead, he offers this accolade up to God his Father as an affirmation of God’s character.

Then Jesus reminds the man of the Ten Commandments.

The man asserts he has kept them all since he was a boy; he is effectively saying, “I’ve been good.” He seems to miss Jesus’ teaching that only God is good.

But merely being good is not enough. Jesus tells him to sell all he has and give away the proceeds. This is easy when we have little, but harder when we have a lot; the man has much. The idea of giving it all away distresses him and he leaves.

Though it might be unwise to turn this story into a rule, for this man, at least, being good is not good enough; being generous is what’s required.

[Luke 18:18-23]

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

Unexpected Jesus

Jesus seems to specialize in doing the unexpected.

For instance, consider when the rich young ruler asks Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus side-steps the question about eternal life. Instead he goes into a teaching about good. That was unexpected.

Another time, four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed. Jesus shocks everyone by forgiving the man’s sins. That was really unexpected.

However, later on Jesus does heal the paralyzed man and he does answer the young ruler’s question (although it’s not what the man wanted to hear —that was unexpected, too).

Jesus often does the unexpected. Perhaps that’s one reason the crowds were drawn to him two thousand years ago and why we are drawn to him today.

Unexpected Jesus may surprise us and at times perplex us, but he is still our healer and savior.

[Luke 18:18-22 and Luke 5:18-25]

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.