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Sit down with me as we think through some tough topics in a reflective way and examine some of the difficult issues that can trouble followers of Christ. My hope is that you’ll always come away with more to think about… RBC Ministries
- The Misused Name |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Jan 26 2010
One way to break down someone’s faith may be to quote Jesus’ promise that… the Father in heaven will give us any thing we ask in Jesus name (John 16:23).
Many of us have discovered the hard way that ending our prayers “in the name of Jesus” doesn’t necessarily make a difference in whether we get [...] - In the Name of Jesus |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Jun 17 2009
In the public trauma of 911, religious leaders gathered for an interfaith public prayer service. While Muslim clerics prayed for the United States in the name of Allah, some Christian leaders did not begin or end their prayers in the name of Jesus.
I remember a well known author and pastor who, in a 2002 college [...] - Keeping Secrets With God! |
Posted by Mart De Haan on May 23 2009
Go public with faith-based actions. Hide them. Which is it supposed to be?
Jesus taught his disciples to do both:To go public with the good that they did.
To keep their good actions as a secret between themselves and God.How are we supposed to sort that out?
In the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount he first taught his [...] - Is God Asking for Something in our Prayers? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Jun 27 2008
When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father, who is in heaven…,” he is encouraging us to bring our daily needs to his Father. The second half of this brief model prayer teaches us to say, “… give us, forgive us… and lead us…” (Haddon Robinson gives the most helpful summary explanation I have ever [...]
- A Case for Short Prayers |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Jun 26 2008
When it comes to prayer, less can be more.
A few words expressed from the heart, can be far more meaningful and timely than an hour spent covering a long list of praises, confessions, requests, and intercessions.
Who hasn’t been bored to death by long prayers that are less than heart to heart communication?
We’ve been told otherwise. [...] - What About Praying to Pray? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on May 28 2008
No one said prayer would be easy.
But had I missed the obvious?
I didn’t want to repeat myself over and over like a child that won’t take “no” or “wait” for an answer. So how are we supposed to come before the Father in a meaningful way, when prayer is something we have done and tried [...] - Wouldn't Start From Here |
Posted by Mart De Haan on May 24 2008
A city guy lost his way on rural roads. Dangerously low on fuel, he came across a man on a tractor who looked like a landowner. “Excuse me, sir,” the traveler said, “but I’m lost and running low on gas. Can you tell me how to get to the nearest gas station”? The man [...]
- What if God Couldn't Feel? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on May 02 2008
What if the Bible told the story of a God who was all-knowing and all-powerful–but who could feel nothing? In a relationship with such a God, I’m thinking a conversation might go something like this:
“Hello, God… It’s me again… I need to talk to you about some things that have been on my mind.
The more [...] - What if God Couldn't Hear? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on May 01 2008
What if the Bible told the story of a God who could hear some of our attempts to talk to him, some of the time…but that because of his busy schedule and all of the background noise he has to deal with, he doesn’t hear everything we are trying to say to him? In that [...]
- Group or Personal Prayer? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Apr 30 2008
In Judaism a minyan is a quorum of ten or more adults assembled for a religious obligation such as public prayer. According to the famous 12th century Jewish rabbi Maimonides, “The prayer of the community is always heard; and even if there were sinners among them [i.e., the minyan], the Holy One, blessed be He, [...]
