Faith Archives – Page 2 of 2

Hetty’s Christian Testimony

Read Hetty’s amazing Christian testimony of the power of Jesus Christ. She has struggled through continual sickness and pain, but still keeps Jesus front and center in her life.

Late last night I read a flabbergasting life story of a woman racked with disease and pain. As I read her tweets and her messages to me, she sounded energetic, upbeat and happy. That, my friends, is an authentic demonstration of the power of Jesus Christ at work in a person’s life. I’m a believer, but if I had to go through half of the troubles Hetty’s been through, I think my attitude might really suck.

Read Hetty’s testimony of faith here.

Psalm 15 – Walk Blamelessly

A short devotion on Psalm 15. As Christians, we need to walk blamelessly – but I know myself. I am not perfect. I will never be perfect. I’m human. I’m fallible. I have flaws.

Walk blamelessly, or perfectly, or with uprightness. Now, I can walk with uprightness, but I’ll tell you right now that I can’t walk blamelessly. I guarantee by the end of the day (53 minutes from right now) there will be something you’ll be able to blame me for.

Is God saying that only those who are perfect will able to go to heaven? Read what Psalm 115, verses 1 and 2 say:

¹ A Psalm of David. O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
² He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart . . .

When I read that, I shook my head. I looked up the original word for “blameless,” and found out that typically, when used in the Psalms, it’s translated “perfect.” Elsewhere in the Bible, the most common translation is “without blemish.” Give me a break. Like I can do that.

When I come across verses like this, it’s easy for me to try to find a way out. The word “perfect” can’t really mean “perfect.” It must mean “mostly perfect” or “able to avoid really serious sins” like adultery or murder. We can avoid those things, right?

But I think we do the Word of God a disservice when we discount what it says. It says that those who are blameless, or perfect, will dwell with God.

I can always go back to the verse in the New Testament . . . you know, the one that says it’s harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Right after that it says that things that are impossible with man are possible with God. So, with the help of the Spirit, perhaps I can be perfect! Hmmmm. I doubt it.

It’s not that I lack faith, but I know myself. I am not perfect. I will never be perfect. I’m human. I’m fallible. I have flaws. I get angry. I have pride. I’m over-competitive.

So what now? Have I just concluded that I’m headed for hell? I don’t think so. As I read this Psalm I don’t read that anyone who’s not perfect is condemned to hell. It’s not in the text. What I do read is that a person who achieves perfection will be able to dwell with God.

I suspect God wrote this to remind us to strive to be perfect. God expects us to read His Word, to listen to Him, and to become more like Him. We need to love our neighbors and hate evil.

The problem with all this is that none of us are perfect, or ever will be. We all sin. But God doesn’t say we can’t live with Him if we aren’t perfect. Yes, He wants us to be blameless. He wanted Israel to be blameless. Were they? Far from it. Yet He relented from destroying them. And He will continue to forgive us if we continue to return to Him.

So, I have hope.

And I also have Jesus, so I have life.

¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

How to Handle Pain

Does God seem distant? These basics of Christianity will help guide you through the difficult times.

We just posted a new article on truthsaves. I had a hard time naming it . . . but I called it, “Life is Falling Apart.” It’s the mini-story of a lady who wrote us asking for advice on how to connect with God. She has been suffering through a lot of pain. I think we all go through times in life where God seems distant. Our faith feels emotionless. How do we get through these times? Tim shares some good insights, some basics of Christianity that we (I, anyway) often forget.

Check out the article.

Romans 2 – A Couple Thoughts

Some thoughts on Romans 2.

We always affirm that salvation is by faith alone, but what about works?

⁶He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (ESV)

These kinds of verses always make me think. If we’re saved by faith, then why all this talk about judgment of our works? I think, for me, it’s pretty clear. We will be judged on the things we do. Our faith will save us, but we must do what we’ve been called to do.