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Bible Perplexities, Bible Study, Encouragement

Hades, Sheol, Hell, Heaven, Paradise and More

Ever get confused over words like Hades, Sheol, paradise, and New Jerusalem?

Let’s clear up the confusion and make sense of where people will spend the afterlife. We’ll look first at neutral names for the realm of the dead. Then we’ll dive into designations for the places we don’t want to go. Finally, we’ll tackle the titles for the spaces of bliss.

Words Describing the Realm of the Dead

These words can mean simply the realm of the dead; that is, the place where a person’s spirit resides until the resurrection. The following verse explains what happens when the physical body dies:

The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7

The Jews thought this realm was a place where spirits awaited the resurrection of their bodies, with a separation between the spirits of the righteous and the spirits of the wicked. Unfortunately, some translations (such as the King James Version) translate the words below as “hell,” causing confusion as to whether the righteous and even Jesus tarried in hell.

Sheol

In the Old Testament, Sheol refers to the realm of the dead, death, grave, or depths.¹

I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?
Hosea 13:14

Abaddon

Abaddon means destruction or death. It’s often another name for the realm of the dead.²

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!
Proverbs 15:11

The word is used only once in the New Testament. There it’s the name of “the angel of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11).

Hades

Hades is the realm of the dead in the New Testament. When the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, it translates Sheol as Hades.³

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
Acts 2:27

"Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus" — Codex Aureus Epternacensis (Golden Gospels), Illuminated Manuscript, c. 1035-1040 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Words Describing Places of Punishment

There are current places of punishment where the wicked abide until the Judgment. After the Judgment, residents move to the final place of punishment.

The Current State of Hell

Hades

Sometimes Hades refers more specifically to the current place of punishment within the realm of the dead. For example, in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man recognizes Abraham and Lazarus and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him with water. But Abraham says there is a great chasm between the two parts of the realm of the dead that no one can traverse.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
Luke 16:22–23

At other times, Hades refers to the final state of hell.⁴

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Matthew 11:23

The Current Place of Imprisonment

Some fallen angels are described as imprisoned.

Abyss

The abyss is a place of imprisonment for demons. (In Romans 10:7, however, it’s another name for the current realm of the dead. Terms sometimes overlap.)⁵

And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
Luke 8:31

Tartarus

Tartarus is used only once in the New Testament. Although it’s translated “hell,” it speaks of a place of imprisonment for fallen angels.⁶

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [tartarus] and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.
2 Peter 2:4

The Final State of Hell

Unbelievers will come before the Judgment Seat in either their disembodied state or reunited with their old bodies (reanimated rather than resurrected in the full New Testament sense). They will be judged and then confined to an eternity away from God’s presence.⁷

Hell (Gehenna)

The name Gehenna comes from the Valley of Hinnom, where apostate Jews offered human sacrifices. Jesus equates it with the final state of hell. In the verse below, Gehenna is translated “hell.”⁸

“And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”
Mark 9:47–48

Lake of Fire

This is synonymous with hell. It’s the final abode of the devil, the fallen angels, unbelievers, Death, and Hades.⁹

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10

In this next passage, “the dead” refers to humans.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:13–15

Death and Hades will have served their purpose, and so will enter hell.¹⁰

Words Describing Places of Comfort

When the physical bodies of saints die, their spirits go to a place of comfort within the realm of the dead. It goes by several names, including heaven. But the word heaven has five meanings in the Bible, three of which are unrelated to a place of comfort. Let’s look at these first.

Meanings of the Word “Heaven” Unrelated to Places of Comfort

Sky

In Jewish writings, the sky is called heaven or the first heaven. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
James 5:18

Physical Cosmos

The physical cosmos is called heaven or the second heaven. It contains the stars and planets.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

Figure of Speech for “God”

Heaven is often used as a substitution for “God” (a figure of speech known as metonymy). Thus, “kingdom of heaven” is synonymous with “kingdom of God.”

“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
Mark 11:30

Sometimes kingdom of heaven refers to God’s current rule in believers’ hearts on earth.¹¹

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
Matthew 13:47

With those meanings of heaven out of the way, let’s turn to words describing the current place of comfort.

The Current State of Heaven

Heaven, Third Heaven

The fourth meaning of the word heaven is the unseen spiritual realmwhere God’s throne and celestial beings reside. This is sometimes called the third heaven.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
2 Corinthians 12:2

Paradise

Paradise is synonymous with third heaven, as can be seen by the verse following the last quoted.

And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows
2 Corinthians 12:3

Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would take him to paradise that day (Luke 23:43).

Abraham’s Bosom

In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, angels carry Lazarus’s spirit to Abraham’s side (or bosom). This is synonymous with paradise and third heaven. A great chasm exists between the current state of hell and the current state of heaven such that no one can cross from one to the other (Luke 16:26).

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.
Luke 16:22–23

At Home with the Lord

Paul describes the current place of comfort as being away from the body but at home with Jesus.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6–8

The Book of Revelation shows the current place of comfort as being in God’s presence. John writes:

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
Revelation 4:1-2

While in the current state of heaven, John sees this:

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
Revelation 6:9

The Final State of Heaven

God will resurrect the bodies of the spirits of those whose names are written in the Book of Life. The resurrected bodies will be glorious, immortal, and powerful. God will create or renew the heavens and the earth. Then believers will dwell with the Lamb and God in the new heavens and earth.

Heaven

The fifth meaning of the word heaven is the final dwelling place of those who worship God. It is where believers receive their inheritance and rewards.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Matthew 6:19–20

Heavenly Country

Hebrews calls our final abode a better, heavenly country.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:16

New Heaven and Earth, Holy City, New Jerusalem

The book of Revelation expands on believers’ final dwelling place as being in the new heaven and earth.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1–4

Scholars differ as to whether the new Jerusalem refers to a place, a people, or both.¹²

In Summary

So there it is. Sheol and Hades are the main names in the Bible for the realm of the dead. Sometimes Hades describes the part of the realm of the dead where the wicked reside, known as the current state of hell, and sometimes it’s synonymous with the final state of hell. The final state of hell is called both hell and the lake of fire. The current state of heaven is called heaven, Paradise, and Abraham’s Bosom. The final state of heaven is called heaven, the new heaven and earth, the Holy City, and (perhaps) the new Jerusalem.

Hades, Sheol, Hell, Heaven, Paradise and More Explained Share on X

Books You Might Like

These are affiliate links for which I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What to Do About It by Clay Jones
40 Questions About Heaven and Hell by Alan W. Gomes
Glimpsing the Future: New Testament Perspectives on Death, Resurrection, Immortality, Eternity, and the Afterlife by Murray J. Harris

December 2, 2024/0 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Spiritual Practices

What Happened on the Remarkable Passion Week

Passion Week is the eight days that begin with Palm Sunday and end with Easter. Here’s what the four Gospels tell us happened each day.

Palm Sunday

“Go,” Jesus tells two disciples. “In that village, you’ll find a donkey tied with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me.”

They find the donkey and colt just as Jesus said. Quickly, they untie them and bring them to Jesus. Then they lay their cloaks on them.

The large crowd at Jerusalem’s gate had heard Jesus was coming. They want to see this miracle worker who raised a man dead four days to life. Could he be the Messiah, the long-awaited King who would rule forever? Will he now lead an army to beat back Rome?

Jesus mounts the donkey colt, never before ridden. He arrives, not on a war horse but on a donkey colt, in peace. Nevertheless, the crowd sees him and rushes to place their cloaks on the road before him. Some run to cut palm branches from nearby trees and spread those before Jesus too. It is an honor fit for a king.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they shout. Hosanna means “God save us,” but Jesus knows they do not realize his true identity. Still, Son of David means they think he is the Messiah. They continue: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

But even his disciples miss the full significance of what Jesus does. It is not until later that they realize he has just fulfilled the words of the prophet Zechariah:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
   Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
   righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
   on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9

Passion Week: Monday

On Monday of Passion Week, Jesus taught the crowd gathered at the temple for Passover. When he heard that God-fearing Greeks sought him, he said this:

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:23-24

Those listening did not understand the significance of three things in his statement. First, “Son of Man” can mean simply “human,” but Jesus reveals elsewhere that he means the divine Son of Man whom Daniel prophesied about here:

I saw in the night visions,
   and behold, with the clouds of heaven
      there came one like a son of man,
   and he came to the Ancient of Days
      and was presented before him.
   And to him was given dominion
      and glory and a kingdom,
   that all peoples, nations, and languages
      should serve him;
   his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
   and his kingdom one
      that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13–14

Second, they did not know he meant he had come to die. The people wanted an earthly king who would deliver them from Roman rule. But Jesus was also the suffering servant about whom Isaiah wrote:

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
Isaiah 53:8

Third, they did not know that Jesus came to save non-Jews. But this is what Isaiah prophesied about the suffering servant:

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6

Jesus is the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died. Then he rose and bore much fruit, bringing to God both Jews and non-Jews. While he died as the suffering servant who cleanses people’s transgression, he arose in glory. For he is also the Divine Son of Man whose dominion is everlasting.

Passion Week: Tuesday

Jesus’s words were puzzling: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2). Whatever could he mean?

He had just been teaching about the kingdom of heaven and the final judgment. His disciples believed he was the Messiah—the anointed king who would rule forever. Surely, he meant something symbolic, as when he said they all must take up their cross and follow him.

Among his followers, perhaps only two glimpsed the reality: Mary of Bethany and Judas Iscariot.

Mary of Bethany Anoints Jesus

That night, Mary’s family held a banquet in honor of Jesus. Not long before, he had raised her brother Lazarus to life after he had been dead four days. Jesus, Lazarus, and the other men reclined at the low table, leaning on one arm, feet stretched out behind them. Mary’s sister Martha served the meal..

Customarily to honor a guest, a host anointed the guest’s head with olive oil and provided a servant to wash the guest’s feet with water and a towel. The Jews considered touching someone’s feet to be degrading, so the lowliest servant was assigned the job.

To Mary, olive oil, water, a towel, and the lowest servant did not honor this guest enough.

Mary approached Jesus with a creamy white alabaster flask in her hand. It contained a pound of ointment perfumed with nard, an expensive oil. She broke the flask’s long, thin neck and the spicy, earthy fragrance permeated the house. She poured the scented oil first on his head—just as a king was anointed with oil at his coronation. The scented oil flowed from his hair onto his body.

Then she poured the remaining nard on his feet and wiped them with her hair. She honored Jesus in every way she could and showed herself a servant to Jesus.

Judas Iscariot Betrays Jesus

Judas Iscariot indignantly demanded why such an expensive ointment hadn’t been sold so the money could be given to the poor. But his indignation had a hidden meaning, for he was in charge of the moneybag and often helped himself from its contents.

Jesus rebuked him.

“Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me … She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.”
Mark 14:6,8

Angry, Judas departed and went to the Jewish leaders. He asked how much they would pay him to deliver Jesus to them. They were delighted. After all, they had already decided that the only way to stop the huge crowds from following Jesus was to kill both him and Lazarus..

And stop him they must. For if Jesus led an insurrection, the Romans would take away the Jewish leaders’ political power. It was also the only way they could get back all the followers they had lost to Jesus. Jesus, they reasoned, could not be the Messiah. He taught there was a resurrection, contradicting the Sadducees. And he belittled the Pharisees’ many rules as mere traditions of men. No, the real Messiah would be submissive to them. The crowds were foolish and should be listening to them. Jesus must be stopped.

Passion Week: Wednesday

Wednesday seems quiet, with the Gospels not identifying anything for that day. Was Jesus preparing for what was to come?

(Find the full text of An Easter Poem here.)

Passion Week: Holy Thursday

Jesus gathered his disciples in a large upper room of a house. There he removed his outer garment, tied a towel around his waist, and washed his disciples’ feet—normally the duty of the lowest household servant. Then he told his disciples that just as he served them, so must they serve each other.

The group then ate the Passover feast, commemorating how years before, lamb’s blood protected the Israelites from death so they could journey to the earthly promised land. Jesus testified that one of them would betray him. Peter motioned to John to ask Jesus who. John reclined next to Jesus and leaned over and asked quietly. Jesus replied, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it” (John 13:26). Then he dipped the morsel, gave it to Judas, and told Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” Judas left to betray him.

Then Jesus told the Eleven that now he would be glorified. He began to teach them urgently:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 13:34

Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup of wine, gave thanks for it, and passed it to them, saying:

Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Matthew 26:28

Afterward, they went to a garden where Jesus frequently met with his disciples. It was not long before Judas appeared, leading a band of soldiers.

FUN FACT: This day is sometimes called “Holy Thursday” or “Maundy Thursday.” “Maundy” comes from the Latin mandātum, from which we get the word “mandate.” “Novum mandātum” refers to the new commandment Jesus gave.

Good Friday

Peter and John follow the soldiers at a distance. The rest of the disciples flee. John knows the high priest and gets them entrance to watch them try Jesus. Trials at night were illegal, but the Jewish leaders seem to have found a loophole. The former high priest Annas questions Jesus, trying to get him to incriminate himself. That is illegal too, and Jesus exhorts him to question witnesses instead. It is an opportunity to repent. But an officer strikes Jesus for impertinence and Annas sends him to the current high priest, Caiaphas, who sends him to the governor, Pilate, for crucifixion.

Pilate Interrogates Jesus

Pilate knows the Jews have delivered Jesus out of jealousy. So he sends Jesus to be flogged with the lightest form of flogging, the fustigatio. The soldiers put a crown of thorns on his head and a purple robe on his shoulders. They mock and beat him. Pilate shows the beaten, wounded Jesus to the Jews, demonstrating he is no threat and has now been publicly humbled. He declares Jesus’s innocence and his decision to release him. But the Jewish leaders threaten to report him for releasing someone who claims to be the Messiah, a king. Pilate takes Jesus within his headquarters again and asks him if he is king of the Jews. Jesus replies:

“My kingdom is not of this world.”
John 18:36

Torn, Pilate offers again to release Jesus, but the Jews will have none of it. Finally, Pilate gives in and sends Jesus for a second flogging, this time the most severe, the verberatio. It is the flogging that precedes crucifixion, ripping away flesh and exposing bones and muscles.

Soldiers Crucify Jesus

Pilate’s soldiers crucify Jesus, pounding nails through his wrists and feet, attaching him to a wooden cross. Two criminals hang on wooden crosses beside him. Above Jesus’s head, Pilate attaches a placard describing the crime for which he must die: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

Soldiers gamble for his clothes. The Jewish leaders mock him for not being able to save himself after all his claims.

Of the Eleven, only John witnesses the day’s horrific events. The women who travel with Jesus are there, as is Jesus’s mother. Seeing her, Jesus tells John to take her home and care for her as his own mother. He leads Mary away to his home. Even in Jesus’s time of greatest suffering, he cares for others’ needs.

“It Is Finished”

At noon, darkness covers the land. Sometime after, John leaves Mary and makes his way back to the cross. He hears Jesus say, “It is finished,” and watches him die. Just then, the curtain of the temple tears in two and a great earthquake shakes the land. The sun’s light returns.

The Jewish leaders want the bodies taken down because the next day is a Sabbath, a day of rest. So the soldiers break the legs of those crucified with Jesus so they will die quickly, no longer able to lift themselves to breathe. When the soldiers see that Jesus is already dead, they leave his legs unbroken. Instead, they pierce his side with a sword. John witnesses the blood and water pouring out. For as the Old Testament declared, the Passover Lamb’s bones could not be broken, and they will look on the one they have pierced (Exodus 12:46; Zechariah 12:10).

Two followers who were among the Jewish leadership, Nicodemus and Joseph, take down Jesus’s body and place it in a new tomb belonging to Joseph.

To his disciples, nothing seems to be going according to plan.

Passion Week: Saturday

On Saturday, Jesus’s bewildered followers wept in sorrow. They hid from the religious authorities as they tried to make sense of the crucifixion of their beloved leader. They had thought Jesus was the Messiah, the righteous king God had promised would rule forever (Isaiah 9:7). He had even affirmed privately that he was the Messiah.

Jesus had also seemed to be the promised prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). All the signs were there, including miracles greater than had ever been seen before. He was a godly man and a brilliant teacher with the power to heal, cast out demons, and even raise the dead.

But now he lay dead in the tomb of a rich man, having been crucified between two criminals. He now seemed more like the Suffering Servant than the Messiah who would rule forever:

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:9

Saturday was dark. But Sunday was coming.

Easter

“He is risen,” said the angel.

On the day of the Feast of Firstfruits, Jesus rose from the dead.

At the temple that Sunday, Jews would offer the firstfruits of barley that had risen to life in their fields. Most did not know that Jesus had that morning become the firstfruits of people to rise to life from this earth. As the firstfruits of barley anticipated the greater harvest to come, so the resurrection of Jesus anticipates the greater resurrection to come:

Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20

.Just as seed lay in the ground until life raised it up, so Jesus lay in the tomb until life raised him up. Just as the Jews raised the firstfruits of their harvest on Sunday before the Lord, so Jesus raised himself as the Firstfruits of the harvest of God’s children on Sunday.

He is risen!

Resurrection on Firstfruits during Unleavened Bread Feasts — “The Angel and Women at the Empty Tomb” by Gustave Doré (public domain)

Related Books You Might Like

Here are two creative devotional studies that walk you through an in-depth study of Scripture, including the resurrection. (These are affiliate links for which I receive a small commission at no cost to you.)

March 22, 2024/1 Comment/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living

Forgiveness: When We Don’t Know How

Today’s post is by Donna Jones

That relationship. Yeah, that one. When you began the relationship, you didn’t sign up for heartache or headaches, did you?

Oh sure, you know conflict is part of life. Everyone knows. What you didn’t know then was how deeply the spouse, child, friend, coworker, or church would wound you.

But here you are. The conflict happened. Or is happening.

The hurt is real. So is the anger. And the confusion.

Conflict and the resulting hurt, resentment, disunity, and bitterness that often accompany it, is one of the devil’s most effective tools to destroy families, friendships, churches, our inner peace, and our witness to the world.

Enter the need for forgiveness.

Years ago, my husband and I worked for a thriving church. However, when the senior pastor decided to retire things changed. Factions developed as people jockeyed for power. We ended up devastated and deeply wounded.

As a result, I struggled with anger, resentment, and forgiveness. I knew Jesus commanded me to forgive as I had been forgiven, but I wrestled with how to forgive. Frankly, my heart felt like someone had taken a giant sledgehammer and shattered it into a million pieces. I often found myself wondering, how does a fractured person extend forgiveness?

In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” In Colossians 3:13 we’re instructed to “[bear] with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Forgiveness is a hallmark of a believer’s life.

But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Sometimes, forgiveness can be downright hard.

One evening I tiptoed my way into vulnerability and shared my private struggle with the worship pastor’s wife. “I know God tells me to forgive, and I want to forgive because I know I should. But I don’t know how. I don’t know if I can.” My confession revealed guilt and shame layered like globs of icky, black tar on my broken heart.

She placed her gentle hands on my shoulders, turned me to face her, eye to eye, and looked at me with complete compassion.

“I want you to listen to me. The fact that you want to learn to forgive pleases God. He’ll show you how.”

In that moment, the process of healing and forgiveness began.

The first step to forgiving is wanting to learn how—if only because God says we should.

But perhaps you’re in a place where your wounds are so deep you don’t want to forgive. Maybe the idea of forgiveness seems unfair. Possibly the thought of forgiveness makes you mad.

May I gently place my hand on your shoulders and whisper something to you? Pray for the “want to.” Start there.

Biblically, to forgive means “to let go.” When we choose to forgive, we let go of our right to get even and we allow God to take over. We let go of our bitterness. We let go of our resentment. We let go of our propensity to bring up the past as an ongoing assault of guilt and shame.

It’s been said that “unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.” The consequences for unforgiveness are lethal.

If we refuse to forgive, we eventually become bitter, resentful, or self-righteous people. When unforgiveness reigns unfettered, our joy, contentment, and usefulness to God die slow, painful deaths. The conflict we wish would go away lives on in our hearts, minds, and souls. Ironically, our perpetrator pays no price for the poison in our soul.

As long as we cling to unforgiveness, we remain chained to past hurt. We live enslaved, revisiting the incident in our minds over and over, wondering how to unshackle the chain.

The choice to forgive loosens the chain and sets us free.

However, the choice to forgive will feel difficult—maybe even impossible—if we falsely believe (1) that forgiveness means offering the offender a free pass to hurt us again or (2) that forgiveness means saying, “What you did to me was no big deal.”

On the contrary: forgiveness means the offense was such a big deal it cost Jesus His life.

Since forgiveness is not giving our offender a free pass to hurt us again, the choice to forgive shouldn’t be equated with the choice to trust or be reconciled. Forgiveness takes one person, but trust and reconciliation take two.

After years of working through forgiveness, here’s what I know: forgiveness is a command, forgiveness is a choice, and forgiveness is a process.

Inviting Jesus into the process of forgiveness makes it easier. After all, Jesus is the Master Forgiver. What’s more, Jesus understands betrayal, heartache, rejection, being misunderstood, physical abuse, abandonment, being despised, and false accusations, just to name a few. Our Savior is called “a man of sorrows . . . acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3 ESV). Hebrews 4:15 also tells us Jesus understands and empathizes with our human condition.

You can simply say, “Jesus, I invite You into my heartache.”

When we invite Jesus into our pain and ask Him to help us to forgive, Jesus doesn’t shame; Jesus sympathizes.

Jesus leans toward us, wraps His loving arms around us, and tenderly whispers, “I know. I’ve felt it too. I understand, and I can help.”

Healthy Conflict, Peaceful Life by Donna Jones

If you find yourself struggling with the forgiveness process, picture your hand in a clenched fist. Better yet, make a fist right now. Envision the issue that wounded you—the one you know you need to forgive but can’t quite find it in your heart to do so—inside your tightly held fingers, resting on your palm. Each finger represents a reason you haven’t let go: it wasn’t fair; they got away with it; they skipped off to a new life, leaving you with their baggage; you want them to feel as badly as you do; they sinned while you tried not to; they need to make it right; you want them to pay for what they did; they treated you wrong. The list could go on.

Now, gently unfurl each finger, one by one, until the core offense lays bare.

Turn your hand over and drop the offense into the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.

That’s forgiveness.

It’s important to give yourself grace as you navigate the process of forgiveness, but don’t throw up your hands in despair and stop choosing to forgive, even if it takes time. Remember, forgiveness is both a choice and a process. If you follow God’s ways, if you invite Him into your hurt, and if you keep choosing to forgive, one day you’ll wake up with the realization that unforgiveness no longer has a hold on you. The process of forgiveness will have morphed into actual forgiveness.

The enemy’s strategy to destroy will be defeated.

And you’ll be free.

This article is an excerpt from Healthy Conflict, Peaceful Life: a Biblical Guide for Communicating Thoughts, Feelings, and Opinions with Grace, Truth, and Zero Regret by Donna Jones (Thomas Nelson, 2024). (This is an affiliate link.)

Donna Jones is a pastor’s wife, Bible teacher, national speaker, and author who’s passionate about helping others know God’s Word so it can change their life, their relationships, and their world. Find lots of free resources at www.donnajones.org, and connect with her on Instagram @donnaajones.

March 12, 2024/0 Comments/by Donna Jones

Encouragement

4 Great Reasons to be Grateful This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and it’s a day many people ponder reasons to be grateful. But how do you give thanks when life hurts?

Moreover, Philippians 4:4 tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” It’s one thing to rejoice in the things we’re glad the Lord has done. But how do we take rejoicing to the next level—rejoicing in the midst of suffering?

This is important for several reasons.

Philippians 4:4 tells us to rejoice always.
Being grateful stops the grumbling and complaining that the Bible warns us against (Philippians 2:14).
The very act of rejoicing plants joy in us.
Being grateful reminds us of God’s past good care and that brings peace over knowing his good care will continue.

For example, in January, my husband Clay was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. We immediately began praying Philippians 4:4-7 together daily—sometimes twice a day.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4–7

We’d recite “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Then we’d take turns rejoicing in the Lord before continuing to recite and pray the rest of the passage. Being grateful before presenting our requests calmed our hearts. While we no longer pray this passage together daily, we each continue to pray it when disappointment derails our peace.

But what can we rejoice in when confronting dreaded news?

Here are four reasons to be grateful no matter what season of life you’re experiencing.

1) Be Grateful for Answered Prayers

Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:3-4

The book of Psalms has many thanksgiving songs that praise God for answered prayers, giving us examples to follow. Additionally, Jesus showed that he expects God’s people to praise God for answered prayers (Luke 17:17-18). Indeed, we can rejoice spontaneously as we see prayers answered. We can also rejoice deliberately by writing down our requests so we can later review them to mark those that God has answered and give thanks.

Indeed, just this morning I turned to where I’d written my prayer request, “Let insurance authorize liver radiation,” and wrote in the column next to it, “Yes! We got the approval on 10/31.”

2) Be Grateful for God’s Daily Provision

Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
        make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
        he supplies the earth with rain
        and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
        and for the young ravens when they call.
Psalm 147:7-9

We can rejoice in every need that God meets: paychecks, gifts, meals, clothing, housing, and healing. We can rejoice in every delight: family, friends, bird songs, sunsets, flowers, and rain. We can rejoice that God gives us everything we have, including our strength, intelligence, and knowledge. We can start a habit of rejoicing in the Lord for every blessing the moment it arrives.

When the weather permits, I walk after lunch and pray. I rejoice in the weather that permits walking, in the blue flowers tumbling from a neighbor’s tree, and in the Anna’s hummingbirds flitting among its branches.

3) Be Grateful for Faith Purifiers

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:6-7

Sometimes God answers our prayers “No.” Sometimes we go through heartbreaking loss. But even in those times, we can rejoice because we know God is good and he will work good out of our current difficulties (Romans 8:28). When we face trials, we can rejoice that they prove our faith genuine, they purify our faith and motives, and they will bring us praise, glory, and honor when we go before Jesus at the end of times.

When we face difficulty, we can rejoice that God is building our character. When embarrassed, we can thank God for developing in us humility. In weakness, we can rejoice that God will either strengthen us or be our strength. Character lasts forever; difficulties do not.

4) Be Grateful for God’s Eternal Promises

Praise the Lord, my soul;
        all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
        and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
        and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
        and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
        so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5

This psalm reminds us, “Forget not all his benefits.” Forgetting God’s benefits makes us impatient, unfruitful, faithless, and fearful. It discourages. And forgetting makes us grumble and argue, like the Israelites in the desert.

Instead, we can remember and rejoice in God’s benefits, including his eternal promises. We can rejoice in his promise to forgive (1 John 1:9). When we recover from illness, we can give thanks for health and for our future imperishable body (1 Corinthians 15:42). Redemption is something for which we can always be grateful: he’s adopted us as his own and he promises eternal life. We can rejoice that he crowns us with love and compassion, and that he satisfies our desires with good things. We can give thanks that he will reward us for our faithful service.

In all circumstances, we can rejoice that one day God will resurrect our bodies and take us to a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). We will reign with him in his kingdom. And there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain (21:4). This life of hardship ends, but the next life of glory is eternal.

Next Step

Get started today by giving thanks for something in each of these categories. Download this handy prayer guide to remind you of four great reasons to be grateful: Reasons to Be Grateful Prayer Guide.

This article was adapted from Discovering Joy in Philippians. This is an affiliate link for which I receive a commission at no cost to you.

4 Great Reasons to be Grateful This Thanksgiving Share on X

Discovering Joy in Philippians co-authored by me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher

October 31, 2023/0 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Encouragement, Spiritual Practices

Create a Truth Journal to Find Hope in Crisis

“This is almost certainly metastasized cancer,” our GP told my husband Clay. “We’re not talking cure here. We’re talking quality of life and length of life.” The words sliced like a knife through my chest.

A week later, an oncologist confirmed stage 4 cancer.

We responded the way we’ve learned through the years: first, by praying, giving thanks out loud to God, and asking God for help; and second, by each creating a Truth Journal.

What a Truth Journal Is

What we call a Truth Journal consists of four things: truths, remembrances, Scriptures, and prayers. Clay keeps his in a Word document and has a separate page for each. He changes the font color of anything related to eternity to purple, the color of royalty. Whenever he updates it, he prints a new copy.

I have a tab in the back of my daily planner labeled “TRUTHS.” This section has pages with these titles:

TRUTHS
REMEMBRANCES
SCRIPTURE
PRAYERS

The titles are in green ink because in my Bible, I underline God’s blessings in green. I placed a gold flower sticker next to the titles because gold reminds me that Jesus is King and sovereign, and flowers remind me of Jesus’s words, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

When we wake up sad or hear something that shakes us, we get out our truth journals and read through them. Sometimes item 3 will be just what we need. Other times it’s item 12. It’s important to regularly add to the journal and to keep it handy.

Previously I wrote about using a Truth Journal to combat doubts (“Does God love me?”) and false beliefs (“God let _____ happen so he must not care about me”). I’ll provide a link to that at the end of this post. Here, I’ll explain how to use a Truth Journal to find hope in time of crisis, such as a health crisis or loss of a loved one.

Let’s begin by looking at the four parts of a Truth Journal.

Truth Journal Section 1: Truths

These are personalized statements based on Scripture. When I previously wrote about Truth Journals, I suggested co-mingling truth statements and Scriptures. But Clay’s Scripture list was long and he ended up adding page breaks before and after it. After I made a mistake copying a longer passage, I decided to redo my Truths page and attach his list onto a separate Scripture page.

In my Bible I underline what we should do in blue, so I list truth statements in blue to remind me I must act on these truths.

Here’s a sample of what’s in our lists.

Clay’s List

The Lord is all-powerful, and He loves us.
Unless we die suddenly, everyone is going to have to go through this (“but such as is common to man,” 1 Corinthians 10:13).
We know that the Lord intends for us to suffer and that He expects us to handle it well.
Hardship is necessary for our spiritual growth and is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.
The Lord is helping us not love this present world.
We don’t know the future—I could be healed—maybe forever—who knows what drugs will come up?
The Lord has brought us medical professionals to help us.
The Lord will take care of both of us no matter what.
The Lord will provide for Jean E., no matter what.
He is disciplining us not to look to the wind but to look at Jesus.
This is an opportunity for us to glorify the Lord.
No matter what happens, we will enjoy each other for eternity.

Jean’s List

Most of Clay’s are also in mine. Here are a few extras.

Everyone has to face suffering, death, and dying. Jesus shows us how to face it.
God has always worked good from the hard things that have happened. He won’t stop now.
The Lord worked great good out of Clay’s first bout with bone cancer.
We know people who have survived metastasized cancer for years.

As we realize more truths, we add to our lists.

Truth Journal Section 2: Remembrances

In my February newsletter, I wrote about how last summer, I was praying while walking when I saw a strange sight: a crow with white feathers in his wings. I snapped a few photos of him hopping among pine branches and headed home to get Clay. The pics were too fuzzy to see the white feathers, and the bird was gone by the time we got down to where I’d seen it. Clay teased that I must be making it up. (He didn’t mean it.)

With Wingtip, God answered prayer better than I asked

The next day as I headed out for my walk, I asked God to show me the crow again so I could call Clay and have him join me. But I didn’t see him during the one-mile walk. I came in through the back door and was telling Clay how I’d prayed to see the crow so he could see it, when I glanced out the window. There the bird was, perched on our fence! He stayed long enough for us to get good photos, then flew into the grapevine, giving us a chance to record him flying. When he flies, his white wingtips sparkle. I named him Wingtip.

What an amazing answer that was better than what I asked for! Instead of me finding Wingtip and calling Clay to quickly come see, God brought Wingtip to Clay.

Scripture tells us it’s essential to remember answered prayers like this.

So I have a section called REMEMBRANCES in which I’ve written these two verses:

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
Psalm 143:5

My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.
Psalm 71:15

I have a two-column list of blessings God’s given us and prayers he’s answered in providential ways. I listed as many wonderful things God has done for us as I can remember as well as the ways God brought good out of past sufferings. That raises my confidence that God will work similarly in this circumstance. While I list just a word or phrase that reminds me of what God has done, Clay writes mostly sentences and uses one column. He entitles his Remembrances section “Remember how God has done amazing things for us—Thank You, Father!”

For both of us, “Wingtip” resides near the top of our remembrances. It assures us that even though God has said no to some of our prayers about Clay recently, he has good reason for it. He will give an answer that I expect to be better than what I asked for.

Truth Journal Section 3: Scripture

Both of us started writing beneficial Scriptures when we were young Christians in high school. This habit has greatly helped our spiritual growth. Prior to this week, I mingled verses with truth statements. But as I mentioned, I messed up a verse I was copying and decided to print Clay’s list and attach it to a separate page in my journal with washi tape (tape that can be lifted and reapplied). In an upcoming blog, I plan to list these comforting verses.

Our Scripture lists go on for pages. Here are a few favorites for finding hope in crises.

Favorite Verses for Truth Journals

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3–5

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16–18

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:21-22

A Note on Conquering

Clay emphasizes the word conquer (Greek nike) in the Revelation passages because it’s what we need to do when we suffer. Nike in other versions is also translated “overcome” or “victorious” and is where Nike tennis shoes gets its name. We need to keep the faith by honoring God through every hardship, disease, persecution, and even to our own deaths. When we do that, we conquer and we will inherit the kingdom.

Truth Journal Section 4: Prayers

The first time Clay had cancer 19 years ago, I made the mistake of praying over every possible future I could think of. I thought praying over each to the point of peace would fill me with lasting peace. But it didn’t. Instead, I’d pray to the point of peace about one possible future only to have another possibility disrupt my peace.

My prayer section is labeled “PRAYERS” and begins with Philippians 4:4-7 broken into lines that I can pray. We’ve both memorized it so we can pray it aloud often. One of us will recite part of the verse and then both of us will pray according to what it says.

Philippians 4:4–7

Here’s an example of how we might pray, with the Scripture in bold and our prayers in italics:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
- Lord, we rejoice that this is the path you’ve set before us. We rejoice that the brain MRI showed no cancer. We rejoice in how you sent Wingtip to encourage us in how you answer prayers in better ways than we even ask. We rejoice [here we go through as many things from the Remembrances section as we can remember].
Let your forbearance be known to all.
- Father, help us to forbear in this situation and to show others the forbearance you give us.
The Lord is at hand.
- Lord Jesus, thank you that you are at hand, that you are right here with us now.
Do not be anxious about anything.
- Father, forgive me for being anxious about the results taking so long. Help me not to be anxious, for you have this in your hand.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Lord, help the lab to correctly identify the molecular profile, and let it be one that is more easily treatable.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 71

Psalm 71’s theme is continual hope and it’s my favorite prayer for building hope. I plan to add a prayer based on Psalm 71 once we have the oncologist’s prognosis.

Prayer Requests and Answers

We both have a spot for prayer requests and answers. Clay entitles his “Recent Opportunities to Trust God.” I have mine on a separate page with two columns labeled “Prayer Requests” and “Answers.”

Conclusion

If you’re going through a crisis, try creating a Truth Journal and reading it often. Arrange it any way that works best for you, just as Clay and I have. It’ll calm fears and help you face crises with hope.

Downloadable Truth Journal

The Joy Super Bonus Bundle has a downloadable Truth journal that you can print.

Fight Fear with Truth: This explains how to create a Truth Journal for combatting doubts and false beliefs.

Books You Might Like

Discovering Hope in the Psalms teaches how to pray 10 psalms of hope; Jean E. Jones, Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher
Discovering Joy in Philippians features joy builders that help you rejoice even in crisis; Jean E. Jones, Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher
Why Does God Allow Evil?; Clay Jones
Tattered and Mended: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul; Cynthia Ruchti

March 9, 2023/1 Comment/by Jean E. Jones

Spiritual Practices

Revitalize Your Bible Reading Plan

Has your Bible reading plan got you yawning? Or do you lack a plan altogether? Here are ways to revitalize your Bible reading plan, whether you’re new to the Bible or have been reading it for decades. After all, Psalm 1 promises blessings on those who meditate on God’s words day and night. So start seeking those blessings with a new Bible reading plan.

Have You Never Read the New Testament All the Way Through?

If you’ve tried reading the New Testament books in order but got bogged down, here’s a method that starts with mostly short books so you build momentum. As you finish each book, mark it finished on the contents page.

Gospel of John: Jesus’s good news of salvation
Galatians through Philemon: Paul’s short letters explain how to live as Christians
Gospel of Mark: Jesus’s good news from Peter’s assistant
James through Jude: Other church leaders explain how to live as Christians
Gospel of Luke: Jesus’s good news from a Gentile perspective
Acts: The spread of Christianity from a Gentile perspective
I, II Corinthians: Paul’s long letters to a Gentile church on how to live as Christians
Gospel of Matthew: Jesus’s good news from a Jewish perspective
Romans: Paul’s long letter on how Jewish and Gentile Christians should do community together
Hebrews: Encouragement to Jewish Christians on perseverance through hardship
Revelation: John’s prophetic message of exhortation and expectation

I recommend a Life Application Study Bible so you can look up anything you don’t understand. You can also download four reading plans including this one called Reading the New Testament for the First Time.

Have You Never Read the Old Testament?

Reading the Old Testament from start to finish at least once works well because it’s grouped by type of book.

The Five Books of Moses: Creation through the journey to the Promised Land
The Histories: These are mostly chronological, though Esther is concurrent with Ezra 4
The Poetic Books (or Books of Wisdom): These examine life from differing perspectives
The Prophetic Books: 5 Major Prophets and 12 Minor Prophets (major means “long” and minor means “short”) that overlap the histories

You can download my Reading the Old Testament the First Time, which intersperses poetry with other readings. Again, I recommend a Life Application Study Bible so you can look up anything you don’t understand.

Have You Read the Bible So Often the Same Way Your Eyes Glaze Over?

One person told me he reads the Bible through every year, and now it feels like he’s no longer taking it in. If you’re reading the same books in the same order every year, it’s time to shake things up. Here are some ways to do it.

Slow Down

Make your goal quality over quantity. Forget reading through the Bible in a year. Instead, take the time to dive into the material, look up cross-references, and use the index for further study. Create charts. Use colored pens or highlighters to mark anything you want to trace in Scripture. Use a blank page in the back of your Bible as a legend for themes you’re tracing (see the sample of one of mine). If you’re artistic, illustrate verses in a wide-margin Bible.

Switch to a New Translation

I switch the translation I use for my main reading every few years. The subtle differences catch my attention.

Change Your Reading Order

You can pray over what book to read next each time you finish one. Or try reading books chronologically. You can get a chronological Bible, although reading one can feel choppy. What I like better is to read books in the same time period. Either use a study Bible’s notes to figure out historical order or download my “Reading the Bible by Time Period.”

When you’ve read the Old Testament once from start to finish and once chronologically, try matching Old and New Testament books with similar themes, marking them on the contents page as you finish. Here are some examples:

Leviticus and Hebrews on the sacrificial system
Deuteronomy, Romans, Galatians, and James on the Mosaic Law
Proverbs, Ruth, and Ephesians on family
Proverbs and James on wisdom
Job and 1, 2 Peter on suffering

Sample of Bible marked in Bible reading plan

Read a New Study Bible

If you’ve never read all the notes in a study Bible, now’s the time. Read books all the way through including their introductions and notes. Then mark them complete on the contents page. Once you finish the entire Bible, including essays and articles, find a new study Bible and do the same. Here are some good options:

Life Application Study Bible, Kenneth N. Taylor, gen. ed. Evangelical. Multiple translations available. A good first study Bible.
NIV Study Bible, Kenneth L. Barker, gen. ed. Evangelical. Offers multiple viewpoints.
NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (formerly NIV Zondervan Study Bible), D.A. Carson, gen. ed. Evangelical, leans Reformed. Offers multiple viewpoints on some topics.
ESV Study Bible, Wayne Grudem, gen. ed. Reformed. An ECPA Book of the Year.

Read Study Guides and Commentaries

Pick a book of the Bible to study deeply, get a good study guide or commentary on it, and read it alongside your Bible. This will greatly enhance your Bible reading and make it more interesting. I’ve written five in-depth study guides that can help you.

Here are some great commentaries in different price ranges. Some you can get electronically through Kindle or Logos. While most are pricey, single volumes are less than it costs to take a family out to lunch.

Genesis 1-11:26, Kenneth Mathews, $
Genesis 11:27-50:26, Kenneth Mathews, $
Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary, Jay Sklar, $$
Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus, Allen P. Ross, $$$
A Commentary on the Psalms: 3 Volume Set, Allen Ross, $$$$
Proverbs, David A. Hubbard, $
Matthew, D. A. Carson, $
The Gospel According to John, D. A. Carson, $
Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, D. A. Carson, $
The Book of Revelation, G. K. Beale, $$$$

Conclusion

So start reaping the blessings of meditating on God’s words by revitalizing your Bible reading plan today!

Revitalize Your Bible Reading Plan Share on X

December 30, 2022/0 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Spiritual Practices

What Evangelicals Can Learn from Lent

At age 12, I discovered a television soap opera called Dark Shadows. It spellbound me with its tales of witches, vampires, ghosts, and werewolves. I watched it every day after school, drawn to the witches’ power to protect themselves. I didn’t know if witchcraft was real, but I wanted to find out. After all, my mother spoke well of witchcraft and claimed her grandmother in Mexico was a witch.

But after a couple years of watching Dark Shadows, my girlfriend Linda told me she thought I was too obsessed with it. She said I was starting to act like one of the witches. Also, she wasn’t sure whether witchcraft was compatible with Christianity. Hence, she suggested I give it up for Lent as a sign that God was more important to me than the show.

He was, so I did. I wasn’t a Christian yet, but I was searching for God and wanted to please him.

What I Discovered

By the end of the 40 days, I was surprised at how free I felt. Free from the enticing aroma of promised power, security, and granted wishes. Free from the tantalizing scent that captured and kept my attention. And free from murky haze that arose from a bubbling caldron of agitation, one-upmanship, and revenge.

Later, Linda gave me a New Testament. I came to Christ while reading the Gospel of John. Still later, I discovered that the Bible explains that people cannot approach God in their own way. Among the unacceptable worship practices, I found this:

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11

Linda was right to warn me away from witchcraft!

What Is Lent?

Lent commemorates the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness. So many observe the time by starting with a day of repentance and continuing by giving up one luxury for 40 or so days, ending around Easter. Some churches have Scripture readings for Lent to help focus believers on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

The churches that observe Lent include Anglican, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Reformed, United Protestant, and Roman Catholic. Even some Anabaptist, Baptist, and nondenominational Christian churches observe it.

Lessons from Lent

After I became a Christian, the churches I attended didn’t observe Lent. Nonetheless, observing it twice under Linda’s guidance taught me some valuable lessons.

1. Preparing Our Hearts for Easter Benefits Us

Remember how John the Baptist came baptizing to prepare people’s hearts for the coming of Jesus? And remember how Jesus said to take communion in memory of his crucifixion and resurrection?

Preparing our hearts to commemorate the greatest event in earth’s history is highly beneficial. I usually prepare for Easter by reading a Gospel in such a way that the crucifixion falls on Good Friday. This annual focus on Jesus’s gift to us prepares my heart to worship as I commemorate Good Friday and celebrate Resurrection Day.

2. Fasting Benefits Us

I’m glad Linda didn’t suggest giving up a luxury either year that we observed it together. Both times I gave up something that was consuming time and leading me away from God.

My experience giving up a gripping soap opera was so positive that I’ve continued to incorporate fasts in my life, though not necessarily at Lent or for 40 days. For example, Clay and I sometimes do a 24-hour media fast. We substitute reading the Bible and praying during the time we would have watched the news or a movie. (I’ve encouraged others to try this too. Some who have say they initially found this difficult because they weren’t used to being alone with their thoughts—thoughts they needed to pray through and get comfortable with in Jesus.)

A 24- or 48-hour complaining fast can break that joy-robbing habit. I plan these whenever I notice a grumbling attitude taking hold. Every time I’m tempted to gripe, I give praise and thanks instead.

A 12- or 24-hour food fast is ideal when I need direction or am interceding for a loved one. I use hunger pangs as a reminder to pray for what I’m seeking. If you’re young and healthy, go for a zero-calorie fast. If you’re not, or if you want to go longer than a day or two, consider the fast the elderly Daniel chose:

I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
Daniel 10:3

3. Fasts Can Break Joy-Killing Habits

Giving up something that has been taking time and attention away from God for 40 days can be freeing. It’s a way to refocus on God and step away from things that rob us of joy and peace.

Consider what things are robbing you of joy and peace now. Might you fast from one for 40 days to transition to a calmer, more God-focused life?

Is social media stirring a boiling pot of anger, resentment, jealousy, or sense of failure?
Are magazines and catalogues a dark skillet of discontent in which envy and lusts after people, positions, possessions, or pleasures sizzle?
Has Internet research become a hot oven in which bakes a steaming casserole of succulent morsels of slander and gossip mixed with the heady spice of self-righteousness?

If so, take a break. Fast from concoctions that taste sweet to the tongue but are bitter to the spirit. Use the time you would have spent on what you’re breaking from to draw close to God. See if at the end of the fast you feel free, peaceful, and renewed in your walk with the Lord.

Conclusion

Lent is an ideal time to prepare for commemorating Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. Scripture reading is particularly rewarding. But, as I learned from Linda, fasting from one thing that’s got an unhealthy grip on us can free us and make room for peace and joy to grow again.

But if you suspect you have a joy-killing habit and Easter is a long way off, don’t wait for Lent. Give it up for a predetermined period. You’ll reap the benefits!

What Evangelicals Can Learn from Lent Share on X

The Complaining Fast

Books You Might Like

The introductory story is adapted from Discovering Good News in John
The complaining and media fasts are adapted from Discovering Joy in Philippians

March 22, 2022/1 Comment/by Jean E. Jones

Jesus in the Old Testament, Old Testament, Spiritual Practices

3 Feasts Jesus Didn’t Fulfill (and 4 He Did)

Who doesn’t love feasts? God gave the people feasts they could enjoy before him. Indeed, God commanded the Israelites to gather together at seven sacred assemblies every year involving feasts. Leviticus 23 describes them:

Passover (verse 5)
Feast of Unleavened Bread (6-8)
Feast of First Fruits (9-14)
Feast of Weeks (15-22)
Feast of Trumpets (23-25)
Day of Atonement (26-32)
Feast of Booths (33-43)

The people gathered at the tabernacle (later, the temple). Not only did these festivals ensure that people remembered God’s mighty works, but they pointed to something significant about Jesus. In fact, Jesus fulfilled the first four on holy days!

What do I mean by “fulfilled”?

The apostle Paul wrote that the festivals “are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). In other words, the feasts and what they commemorated foreshadowed some reality about Jesus. Thus, Jesus fulfilled the feasts when he completed that which they foreshadowed.

With that in mind, let’s look at the four holy days Jesus fulfilled and then consider the three he didn’t fulfill—and why.

The Four Feasts Jesus Fulfilled

The Jewish religious calendar begins in spring on Nisan 1, the month that the people escaped from Egypt (Exodus 12:1-2). That day is called Rosh Chadesh Nisan. Two weeks later come the year’s first three sacred assemblies, which overlap. In fact, they’re so closely related that they are often collectively referred to by the name of the first: Passover.

For Detail Lovers

The Jewish calendar is lunar, unlike the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world today. That causes Nisan 1 to fall on different dates in March or April each year. Most people think the Jewish new year is in the fall. That is because around the third century AD, many Jews started celebrating the new year in the fall (more on that later).

1) Passover: Pesach

Passover celebrated with lamb — Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

Nisan 14 (March 27, 2021 afternoon)

Passover celebrated God’s deliverance. For it, God commanded Israelite families to sacrifice a lamb each year on Nisan 14, without breaking any of its bones. This was the Passover sacrifice. That night, they ate the lamb with bitter herbs. This was the Passover feast.

The annual sacrifice and feast commemorated how the Destroyer passed over homes protected by lamb’s blood so the inhabitants would not die and could instead begin the journey to the promised land.

For Detail Lovers

Here’s what happened. The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: Let my people go! This was because the Egyptians had enslaved the Israelites. Nine times Pharaoh refused, and nine times the Lord brought plagues as a sign that he was more powerful than Pharaoh’s gods.

Then the Lord announced the tenth plague: The Destroyer would come that night and kill the Egyptian firstborn males. But he commanded the Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. When the Destroyer came, he would pass over homes protected with lamb’s blood.

According to Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, since the temple’s destruction in AD 70, no Passover lambs have been sacrificed. He says that Jews today consider Nisan 14 a minor holiday and refer to Nisan 15 to 21 as Passover.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

On Thursday, Jesus ate the Passover Feast with his disciples. The Jewish leaders arrested him that night and Rome crucified him the next day. Soldiers did not break his legs when they broke the legs of those crucified with him so “that the Scripture” regarding the Passover lamb “might be fulfilled” (John 19:33,36).

The New Testament declares, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as Passover commemorated God delivering his people from slavery to Egypt so they could journey to the earthly promised land, so Jesus’s sacrifice delivers God’s people from slavery to sin so that they can journey to the heavenly promised land. Just as the first Passover lambs’ blood protected from death, so Jesus’s blood protects from the second death (hell), granting eternal life.

The Last Supper celebrates the Passover and Unleavened Bread Feasts — “The Last Supper” by Giampietrino (public domain)

For Detail Lovers

Because Jewish days began at sunset, Jesus was crucified on the same religious calendar day as the feast, Nisan 15. Thus, when he gave his disciples bread and wine at the Passover feast and said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood of the covenant,” he linked the Passover feast to his sacrifice (Matthew 26:26,28).

2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Chag HaMatzot

Nisan 15-21 (sunset March 27 to sunset April 3 or 4, 2021)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated God’s continued deliverance with a week of feasts. Each year before the feasts began, Jewish families completely emptied their homes of leaven (Exodus 12:19). Then for seven days, they ate nothing with yeast. They also made daily food offerings. On the first and last days of the week, they held sacred assemblies at the temple and did no work.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread recalled that the Hebrews fled from Egypt quickly on Nisan 15, without time to let bread rise. Leaven often symbolized corruption and could not be used on the altar.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the festival’s bread was without yeast, so Jesus was without corruption. Just as Jewish families purged yeast from their houses, so today followers of Christ purge sin from their lives:

Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:8

3) Feast of Firstfruits

Sadducees: Sunday after Sabbath after Passover (April 4, 2021); Pharisees: Nisan 16 (March 29, 2021)

The Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the first of the grain harvest. This was because the first sheaf of barley was a sign that God was about to bless his people with more. So Jews brought a sheaf of barley to the temple to wave before the Lord and give thanks for the harvest to come. They could not eat any barley until they performed this ritual.

The Hebrews began celebrating this holy day after they arrived in the promised land. Thus, it reminded families that their harvests were God’s gift and there was more to come.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. His resurrection promises that he will resurrect those belonging to him when it is time to enter the new promised land. Just as the first sheaf of barley anticipated a greater harvest of barley, so Jesus’s resurrection anticipates a greater harvest of souls.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:20–23

For Detail Lovers

The Sadducees celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits on the day that followed the Sabbath that followed Passover (always a Sunday). The Pharisees celebrated Firstfruits on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 16). According to Harold W. Hoehner in Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Nisan 16 fell on the Sunday following the Sabbath that followed Passover in both AD 30 and AD 33. These are the two years most scholars place the crucifixion.

Loaves of bread for feasts — Loaves of bread, courtesy of Adobe Stock

4) Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): Shavuot

7 weeks after Firstfruits (Sadducees, May 23, 2021; Pharisees, May 17, 2021)

The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the wheat harvest. It was also called Pentecost because it came 50 days after the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then on this day, worshipers presented two loaves of wheat bread made with leaven to the Lord.

For Detail Lovers

In preparation for the festival, people made provision for the poor. In time, the celebration also commemorated the giving of the law at Sinai not long after the Israelites escaped Egypt. If Jesus was crucified in AD 30 or 33 as most scholars think, the Sadducees and Pharisees celebrated Pentecost on the same day the year of the crucifixion.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

On this sacred day, Jesus baptized his followers with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Just as the wheat harvest had produced loaves of bread, so the resurrection produced the church. Just as the loaves contained leaven, so the church contains imperfect people.

"The Holiday Series: Rosh Hashanah" by Arthur Szyk on Jewish Feasts — “The Holiday Series: Rosh Hashana” by Arthur Szyk, courtesy of The Arthur Szyk Society (www.szyk.org)

The Three Feasts Jesus Has Not Fulfilled

The seventh month of the year held three more celebrations, and their final fulfillments are yet to come. For Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

5) Feast of Trumpets: Rosh HaShanah

Tishri 1 (sunset September 6 to sunset September 7, 2021)

The Feast of Trumpets celebrates God’s providence. Trumpets call people to gather before God in rest from all harvests, including grapes and citrus. Priests blew trumpets from morning to night. This feast began a time of spiritual renewal.

For Detail Lovers

Today, the celebration extends over two days and includes a celebration of the civil new year. This change may have happened around the third century AD. Exodus 12:1-2 commands that the Jewish year begin on Nisan 1, so that remains the new year on the Hebrew religious calendar.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the trumpet sounded to call people to the temple after all harvests were complete, so when the earthly harvest of souls is complete, another trumpet will sound to call for the ingathering of souls:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The Day of Atonement required two goats — Photo by Couleur on Pexels.com

6) Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur

Tishri 10 (September 16)

The Feast of Trumpets was followed by the Hebrews’ holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. This was not a feast, but prepared the people spiritually for the feasts to come.

On this day, the people prepared themselves by ceasing all work, fasting, denying themselves comforts, and confessing and repenting from sins. Meanwhile, the high priest presented sacrifices to cleanse the people and all the holy things from the year’s accumulated defilement of sin. He also took two goats and sacrificed one to make atonement for sin. Then he laid his hands on the head of the other, confessed the people’s sins, and sent the goat into the wilderness as a sign that their sins had been carried away.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

In Jesus’s first coming, he atoned for sin on the cross, completing the work of the first goat. But the Judgment follows his second coming, after which he will remove all sin and causes of sin, fulfilling what the second goat pointed to (Matthew 13:41; Revelation 20:10-15). What the Day of Atonement pointed to will be fully and finally complete.

7) Feast of Booths: Sukkot

Tishri 15-22 (September 21-28, 2021)

The Feast of Booths celebrates the journey to and arrival in the promised land. It was the final festival of the year and provided another week of feasts. The people brought fruit and tree branches to rejoice before the Lord. For seven days, they dwelt in temporary booths constructed from branches. This commemorated the Lord’s good care as the Hebrews journeyed through the desert. Then on the eighth day, they entered homes, commemorating arrival in the promised land.

"Examining the Lulav" by Leopold Pilichowski for the Feast of Booths — “Examining the Lulav” by Leopold Pilichowski (public domain) shows tree branches and citron fruit used in the Feast of Booths

For Detail Lovers

By Jesus’s day, water and light ceremonies took place during the Feast of Booths (John 7-8). People bound together a palm frond, myrtle, and willow (called a lulav) to carry with citron fruit in a procession during the water ceremony.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the Hebrews lived in temporary booths until they reached the earthly promised land, so our souls dwell in temporary shelters—our earthly bodies—while we journey to the new promised land. When Jesus returns, he will raise our bodies into glorious, imperishable bodies. We will bring to him the fruit his Holy Spirit has grown in our lives.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:52–53

Another feast awaits: the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). The Lord God will bring us to the new heavens and earth. There he and Christ, our Passover Lamb, will dwell in our midst forever (Revelation 21:1-3). There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Our journey ends. We will arrive.

3 Feasts Jesus Didn't Fulfill (and 4 He Did) Share on X

Books You Might Like

These are affiliate links for which I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament by me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher. Creative devotional study.
Holiness to the LORD: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus, by Allen P. Ross. Excellent commentary with sermon outlines.
Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary, by Jay Sklar. Easy to read commentary with outstanding introduction.
Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation, by Allen P. Ross. Detailed look at how Old Testament worship should inform us today.
Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, by Harold W. Hoehner. Interesting examination of when events in Jesus’s life occurred, though contains some speculation.

March 17, 2021/6 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Encouragement, Psalms

We Will Not Fear

“We will not fear,” the Psalms tell us. Yet these are difficult times. My girlfriend just texted me for prayer—her sister has surgery today for breast cancer, but their widowed mother can’t visit because she’s at high risk for coronavirus. My brother-in-law has an inoperable brain tumor, and out-of-state family can no longer visit. At the same time, his ability to use technology is fading. Additionally, my husband is losing his job for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, but so are millions of others due to shelter-in-place mandates.

So what is our hope during a worldwide crisis? How do we not fear?

Psalm 46 tells us.

We Will Not Fear

God is our refuge and strength
        an ever-present help in trouble
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
        and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
        and the mountains quake with their surging.
(Psalm 46:1-3)

Nestled in the first three verses are reasons to reject fear even when the earth gives way to a virus’s ravages.

We Will Not Fear Because God Is Our Refuge

We can go to our heavenly Father whenever danger nears. The psalms often describe God as a rock of refuge—a mountainous rock covered in caves and clefts that conceal us from risk. While we take refuge in homes from COVID-19, let us also take refuge in our God.

We will not fear. Image of Meteora, Greece by Stathis floros / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) — Meteora rock formations in Greece. By Stathis floros / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

We Will Not Fear Because God Is Our Strength

The apostle Paul says God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For when we’re weak but rely on God, then we are strong. He knows our days and he’s counted the hairs on our heads.

We Will Not Fear Because God Is an Ever-Present Help in Trouble

His presence is with us. His Holy Spirit is in us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Because God is our refuge, our strength, and our ever-present help, we can choose to not fear.

We Will Not Fear Because the City of God Awaits

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
        the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
        God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
        he utters his voice, the earth melts.
(Psalm 46:4-6)

Earth’s Jerusalem is often called the city of God. But that Jerusalem has no river. What city of God does this speak of then?

This holy habitation is the heavenly Jerusalem of which the earthly city was but a type: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… and to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:22,24). In the new heavens and earth, the river of life flows from the throne of God through the city’s center (Revelation 22:1-2). And the tree of life grows on its banks.

We Will Not Fear Because God Appoints Our Time

Humans lost access to the tree of life at the fall, leaving death to reign. But Jesus died and rose again to open the way to eternal life for all who believe in him.

We will not fear. Tower of Refuge image by Gregory J. Kingsley. — Tower of Refuge on St. Mary’s Isle by Gregory J. Kingsley (licensed under Creative Commons Share Alike https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Each of us has an appointed time to die (Hebrews 9:27). Indeed, doctors have told some of us that our day is near. The rest of us await such notice with eyes averted in the hope that it’s still far off. But the new virus’s spread reminds us that our time comes, perhaps even soon.

But coronavirus can’t change our assigned time to die. Either it’s our moment or it’s not. Does that mean we should act foolishly? Of course not! Rather, reckless behavior merely suggests that our preset time may be close.

Yet death is not our end. It is our new beginning.

We Will Not Fear Because We Know Our Future

Here on earth, nations rage and kingdoms totter. The cursed earth spews pestilence and plague. The sea roars in devastating power. But a day comes when God “utters his voice” and “the earth melts” (Psalm 46:6). “The heavens will be set on fire and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:12).

But that is not cause for despair, for “we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). We are coming to the holy city of God that “shall not be moved” within which flows “a river whose streams make glad the city of God” (Psalm 46:4,5). There those who belong to the Lamb will see God’s face and dwell with him forever more.

That is why we must heed these words: “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Yes, we have an appointed time to die—but death for the Christian merely means moving into the presence of God.

We Will Not Fear Because the Lord Is with Us

The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
(Psalm 46:7,11)

Psalm 46’s refrain says the One who commands angelic armies is with us. Not only that, but he is our fortress. Picture tall towers and walls too high to scale. Hosts of angels and an impenetrable fortress convey this message: We are safe. And indeed we are, for “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Selah. Pause and ponder.

We Will Be Still and Know that God Is God

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
        how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
        he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
        he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
        I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
(Psalm 46:8-10)

Remembering that the LORD of hosts is with us and that he is our fortress encourages us to turn our eyes to grander things. Yes, God cursed the earth bringing desolation. But he is also ushering us into this age’s finish when he will end all wars and judge all people. Then he will bring those who belong to him to the new heavens and earth where death is no more.

God himself says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” When fear assails us, this is what we do. We turn to him, still ourselves, and repeat these words from him. We can do it because God has told us the end of our story. We will be with him, and he will be exalted. He is God.

We Will Remember the Lord Is with Us

The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
(Psalm 46:7,11)

Again, he is with us even now, and he is our fortress. Selah. Pause, ponder, and pray. Hear his words: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

A Prayer

A prayer based on Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength,
            a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though pandemic fills the earth,
            though world economies plunge into the heart of the sea,
though media roar and foam,
            and people tremble at the news.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
            the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
            God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
            he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us;
            the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
            the heavens and earth are stored up for fire.
He will make war cease to the end of the earth;
            he will break all weapons of war;
            he will destroy the subs, silos, and tanks.
He will bring us to his holy habitation.

“Be still, and know that I am God,
            I will be exalted among the nations,
            I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD of hosts is with us;
            the God of Jacob is our fortress.

God himself says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” When fear assails us, this is what we do. Share on X

Books You Might Like

These books are especially good for difficult times. The links are affiliate links, meaning I receive a tiny commission if you use them to buy a book at no extra cost to you.

Discovering Hope in the Psalms by me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher
Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What to Do about It by Clay Jones

April 2, 2020/2 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Encouragement

14 Verses That Will Give You Peace

Need peace? Here are 14 verses to help. Adapted from Discovering Joy in Philippians.

Assurance of Salvation

It’s common for new Christians to doubt their salvation, but these verses can bring peace.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12

John 1:12 gives peace by assuring us of salvation

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24

Assurance of Forgiveness

Here are verses to repeat after going to our heavenly Father to confess sin.

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

Doubt

When we face doubts, these verses can help bring peace.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
2 Corinthians 10:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Temptation

These peace-giving verses help when we face temptation.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6

Discouragement

We all face discouraging times. These verses can bring peace to discouraged hearts.

Peace verses — Philippians 1:6 is a verse that gives peace when we’re discouraged

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39

Fear

Here are verses that calm us when fears disturb our peace.

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

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14 Verses That Will Give You Peace Share on X

Books You Might Like

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Discovering Joy in Philippians by Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher and me
Discovering Hope in the Psalms by Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher and me

February 18, 2020/0 Comments/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Encouragement, Jesus in the Old Testament, Spiritual Practices

Christians Need the Bible’s Big Picture

I took oil painting lessons from my mother-in-law, Rae, who was a former Disney artist. (The painting displayed in this post is her work. Sadly, we lost my paintings in a move.) Each week she critiqued my progress and told me what to work on next. One week I added complementary under layers to my canvas. Because the butter leaf green background needed red for depth, I squirted red ochre onto my palette and swirled it with dabs of other pigments. The odors of linseed oil and turpentine permeated the air as I leaned close to my aluminum easel so I could meticulously merge the muddy maroon into the mossy background.

Close up of painting by Rae Jones shows big picture versus detail — Close-up of Rae’s painting shows colors used in sky

As I carefully brushed and delicately blended, my husband walked in the door, stopped, and declared, “You gave the painting measles!”

“No, I didn’t,” I said, frowning. “It’s depth.”

“Come over here and look at it,” he said, laughing.

None too pleased over his lack of appreciation for my artistic enhancements, I walked over to where he stood and looked back at the painting. Sure enough: measles. What up close looked like subtle gradations of color, at a distance looked like leopard skin.

When I took my polka dotted canvas to Rae, she showed me how to meld undertones by standing back to see what the painting as a whole needed, coming in close for precise brush strokes, and then stepping back again to view the overall affect. It didn’t take long before the reds and greens not only looked as if they belonged together, but showed they needed each other for depth and balance.

The Need for Big Picture Bible Studies

Discovering Jesus in the OT cover — Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament

Reading the Bible is like painting a picture in our minds and souls. While it’s important to come in close to study passages and books, it’s also important to step back and see how the individual parts explain and deepen our understanding of the whole. Then we can see how all the parts of the Bible belong together and how they need each other for depth and balance—for the whole picture.

In the Bible studies I write with Pam Farrel and Karla Dornacher, the book Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament gives the big picture. Every chapter starts with Genesis and ends with Revelation as it displays an aspect of what the Old Testament promises, prophecies, and types tell us about Jesus. For instance, the chapter “Jesus the King Forever” starts with God’s mandate to humankind to reign over the earth, looks at God’s promise to King David of a descendant whose throne will last forever, sees how the prophets say David was a type of a future righteous King who will reign forever, notices what the New Testament says about Jesus fulfilling these OT passages, and rejoices in what is to come: Jesus reigns forever and humankind reigns under him in the new heavens and earth.

The Need for Close-up Bible Studies

Just as Rae taught me to come in close when painting detail, so we do best when we alternate stepping back for the big picture and moving in for the detail in studying the Bible. That’s why we also write books that move in close, too. For instance, Discovering Joy in Philippians looks with great detail at the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It starts in Acts with Paul preaching the gospel in Philippi and being thrown in prison. But we see that wonderful things happen when he and Silas sing praises to God. Then the Discovering book delves deeply into Philippians and all Paul says about discovering joy in any circumstance.

Discovering Hope in the Psalms is a close-up look, too. It examines ten psalms about the hopes God’s people share. These psalms show us how to pray in a way that helps our hope in God soar, even–or especially–when we encounter disappointment or evil. The psalms point us to the One who gives us hope for now and eternity.

What Are You Looking For?

If you haven’t studied the Bible’s big picture for some time, consider Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. If you’ve recently finished a big picture study, one of our close-up studies may be a fit for you.

If you haven't studied the Bible's big picture for some time, consider "Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament." Share on X

Jesus in the Old Testament
3 Things Everyone Should Know about Jesus in the OT
More about
- Big picture: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament
- Detail: Discovering Joy in Philippians
- Detail: Discovering Hope in the Psalms

Books You Might Like

Here are Amazon affiliate links. You can also find the books at ChristianBook.com, Barnes & Noble, and your local bookstores.

November 19, 2019/1 Comment/by Jean E. Jones

Christian Living, Encouragement, Reviews, Spiritual Practices

Books to Encourage and Embolden Your Prayers

June 26, 2019/1 Comment/by Jean E. Jones

Words Describing the Realm of the Dead

Sheol

Abaddon

Hades

Words Describing Places of Punishment

The Current State of Hell

Hades

The Current Place of Imprisonment

Abyss

Tartarus

The Final State of Hell

Hell (Gehenna)

Lake of Fire

Words Describing Places of Comfort

Meanings of the Word “Heaven” Unrelated to Places of Comfort

Sky

Physical Cosmos

Figure of Speech for “God”

The Current State of Heaven

Heaven, Third Heaven

Paradise

Abraham’s Bosom

At Home with the Lord

The Final State of Heaven

Heaven

Heavenly Country

New Heaven and Earth, Holy City, New Jerusalem

In Summary

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Pilate Interrogates Jesus

Soldiers Crucify Jesus

“It Is Finished”

Passion Week: Saturday

Easter

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1) Be Grateful for Answered Prayers

2) Be Grateful for God’s Daily Provision

3) Be Grateful for Faith Purifiers

4) Be Grateful for God’s Eternal Promises

Next Step

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What a Truth Journal Is

Truth Journal Section 1: Truths

Clay’s List

Jean’s List

Truth Journal Section 2: Remembrances

Scripture tells us it’s essential to remember answered prayers like this.

Truth Journal Section 3: Scripture

Favorite Verses for Truth Journals

A Note on Conquering

Truth Journal Section 4: Prayers

Philippians 4:4–7

Psalm 71

Prayer Requests and Answers

Conclusion

Downloadable Truth Journal

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Have You Never Read the New Testament All the Way Through?

Have You Never Read the Old Testament?

Have You Read the Bible So Often the Same Way Your Eyes Glaze Over?

Slow Down

Switch to a New Translation

Change Your Reading Order

Read a New Study Bible

Read Study Guides and Commentaries

Conclusion

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What I Discovered