Jesus. The Way, the Truth, and the Life.
A chart of messianic prophecies and their fulfillments found in the New Testament.
Prophets prophesied. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies centuries later. The historical events of Jesus’ life, described by first-hand eye witnesses, supply evidence of the authenticity of Scripture and proof that Jesus was who He said He was.
Check out our chart of messianic prophecies and their fulfillments found in the New Testament.
The 400 years between the writing of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament are called the Silent Years. But was God really silent?
The 400 years between the writing of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament are often referred to as the “Silent Years.” The term could be based on Amos 8:11-12, where Amos prophesies about a famine of hearing the Word of God. But was God really silent during this time?
Check out the new article, The Silent Years, to get a little insight into this subject.
David purposed in his heart to avoid sin. We can do the same.
I love this Psalm for multiple reasons.
David prayed earnestly, out of a sincere heart. Do we?
David purposed that his mouth would not transgress.
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
Psalm 17:3 (portion)
Some say avoiding sin is not simply a matter of making a decision. Being a former addict, I understand the thought process. Yet such thoughts are deceptions, some truth mixed with lies.
Life consists of a series of decisions. Will I swear? I choose. Will I pick up that joint? Will I light it? It’s up to me. Do I have the ability to stop my hand from reaching over to the bottle, unscrewing the cap and drinking? Did I look at the porn out of necessity? Every waking moment we make choices. We can purpose, like David, to not sin. We choose. So often we blame addiction, our partners, unforeseen circumstances, depression . . . we need to be like David and stop blaming everything around us. Our choices are our decisions. Plain and simple.
So often we think the concept of eternal life is only a New Testament concept. I’ve talked about it before, and I’ll say it again – it’s all over the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. David talked about men whose satisfaction and treasure was here – in this life. He contrasted that with his vision of contentment . . .
13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
David’s portion was with God. He understood that this life offers nothing. He had an eternal perspective. Do you?
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.
I’ve recently added two New Testament outlines at https://truthsaves.org/outlines/
The two at the bottom of the New Testament page are the new ones – 2 Timothy and Titus. Most of the other New Testament outlines will be coming soon.
I’ve also added an article called How Jesus Fits in the Trinity. It was born out of a question sent in by a site viewer. It discusses a variety of questions, such as: