Jesus. The Way, the Truth, and the Life.
God desires to interact intimately with us. And through Him, we can lead victorious lives – no matter what trials life may bring.
Sometimes, when we think we’re doing just fine, when we think we’ve got it all together – we fall flat on our faces. Then we either get up and do the same thing all over again, or we call on God to help us through.
This poem suggests a better way. Stay close to God all the time, through good and bad, and He’ll guide you and protect you every step of the way. God doesn’t want to be distant; He wants to interact with us and give us a life of victory.
Do you know Him?
Do You Know Him?
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ”
Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)
Psalm 18 gives us some insight into David’s thinking.
I find five easy divisions in this Psalm.
This Psalm reminds me that God isn’t always peaches and cream. He love us, yes, but He can be destructive, angry, judging.
7Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He bowed the heavens and came down;
(N) thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
Psalm 18:7-15
I think I’d rather be on His good side.
On another note, I don’t fully understand how David could say that he was blameless and pure (Psalm 18:20-24), unless he wrote this Psalm before the Bathsheba incident. Maybe David just understood that God’s forgiveness surpasses any sin. Forgiven sin, like an expunged crime, vanishes – never to be remembered.
My favorite verses are 20-27. If we live righteously, we can expect God’s favor. Haughty and crooked people should have no expectation of salvation. As Christians, we should live as David describes in verses 21-23. And then, as we strive to serve God, He makes us righteous (Psalm 18:24), which is something only He can do.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Psalm 18:21-24 (ESV)
The rest of this Psalm David rejoices in how he pounds his enemies into dust, and I appreciate him sharing such things, but I’m not sure that we, as Christians, should follow his example in this. If anyone disagrees with me, I’d love to hear about it.
Knowledge of the Bible not accompanied by action is a dangerous thing.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
Isaiah 7:21-23 (ESV)
If you have knowledge of the Word, but your life shows no evidence of it, you should be concerned.
Check out our thoughts on this topic.
A Christian testimony describing a chaotic journey through a world of drugs and alcohol.
We’ve added yet another unbelievable Christian testimony to truthsaves. This is Scot’s story. He lived life numbed by alcohol and hard drugs. Doctors actually told his family members to start preparing for his death. He had no hope, or so it seemed.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
Read Scot’s amazing journey through the valley of the shadow of death.
This outline of Micah helps picture God’s desire to have a relationship with His people.
I just uploaded an outline of Micah. While Micah prophesies doom and destruction like other prophets, he also makes blatantly clear that God doesn’t desire sacrifices or lip service; He desires an intimate relationship with us.
6:6 “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
An overview and outline of Joel, one of the 12 minor prophets in the Old Testament.
An overview and outline of Joel. As Hosea develops the relationship of a husband and wife to portray the LORD’s interaction with Israel, thus Joel develops an invasion of locusts into a view of God’s impending destruction. Joel develops an invasion of locusts into a view of God’s impending destruction.
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 (ESV)
Here’s a new Christian poem from mamarocks.com. It’s called Lord, Forgive Me. When we plead with God for forgiveness, He listens and forgives.
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 (ESV)
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.