the narrow gate

The Narrow Gate - Finding the Way, The Truth and the Life

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The Narrow Gate

Finding the Way, the Truth and the Life

Michael Beck


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Copyright © 2014 by Michael Beck

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in

any form without the prior written permission of the author.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New King

James Version ®, Reference Edition © 2010 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., published by

Thomas Nelson in Nashville, TN.

Unless otherwise indicated, photos are taken and copyrighted by the author. See

Appendix C for details.

Cover photo: Michael Beck at 63 Parforce St, Gasparillo, Trinidad, “In Ma’s Hammock.”


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This Testimony is dedicated

to my amazing wife and best friend Grace.

I am so blessed to have you in my life!

I love you!


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Table of Contents Introduction ................................................ 6

Chapter 1 The Way ................................ 8

Chapter 2 The Truth ............................ 17

Chapter 3 The Life ............................... 36

Conclusion: The Purpose of Life ............... 47

Appendix A: Recommended Literature .... 52

Appendix B: Bible Reading Plans .............. 54

Appendix C: Photo Index .......................... 59


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Introduction

Have you ever thought that there was something missing in

your life? Have you ever had feelings of loneliness,

disappointment or even depression? Have you ever wondered

about the purpose of life? I’m sure most of us have at some

point. I’m certainly no exception. I always had this strong

feeling inside of me that there is a deeper purpose to life, and

something important I needed to do, that I serve an important

purpose. Yet, I remained mostly clueless and aimless for most

of my life. Figuring out the purpose of life seemed to be an

impossible task, something nobody knows the answer to, an

impossible riddle. Maybe, I thought, I would just have to wait

until I die, and then hopefully I would finally know what life was

all about.

This is my story of finding my purpose in life. It is an ongoing

journey. I never stop learning, and I certainly don’t know it all,

but I already know much more about it than I ever thought

possible. I share my story to start some thoughts and

conversations. I realize that it makes me very vulnerable, to

present my beliefs so openly, and many people may not like

what I have to say. I would like to think that I don’t care what

other people think, but I do. Regardless, I have the strong

desire to share my discovery with as many people as possible.


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Whether you have already found this knowledge for yourself,

or if this is all new to you, please give me your feedback. My

mailing address is:

P.O. Box 8301

Myrtle Beach, SC 29578

and my e-mail address is [email protected]

We should all support each other in finding out the purpose of

life. After all, we only have this one life on earth, and it is a very

short one, let’s make the best of it!

mailto:[email protected]


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Chapter 1 The Way

My journey began when I was born on an

unusually hot day in spring 1973 in Rheine,

Germany. I grew up in a small nearby town

called Hörstel, where we lived in a red brick

house with a huge yard. I was raised by two

wonderful parents who loved me very much,

Helmut and Helene Beck, and I had a very

happy childhood. I remember my dad and me

building a tree house and a giant swing, my

mom taking me to the lake to go swimming and our having dinner together every

evening. We played soccer and badminton together, went on long hikes, and

went on Ferris wheel rides and had

candy almonds at the fairground. When

I turned six, I gained a brother,

Andreas, who enriched my life greatly.

Even though we never had much

money, the four of us had a great

family life, had much fun and quality

time together, and went on many

adventurous vacations all over Europe.

After high school, I became a

communications electrician for Deutsche Telekom, and I later attended the

Fachoberschule Rheine and the Fachhochschule Osnabrück, studying electronics.

During my summer vacation in 1995, I participated in a “cultural & work exchange

program” and spent two months in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA, working as

a ride operator in the amusement park “The Pavilion.” During this time, I met

Grace for the first time and fell in love with her. We had a long-distance

relationship for the next two years, with lots of letters and expensive phone calls

(this was before we had internet). In 1997 I decided that it was more important to

Play time with Mama and Papa

Andy and I with Mama and Papa


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me to marry Grace than to

finish my college degree.

Just before my final

semester, I moved to Myrtle

Beach in November, and we

got married on the 24th of

the same month. On that

day I also became the father

of four wonderful children,

Samantha, 6, Mario, 12,

Anthon, 17, and Maria, 18.

The kids soon accepted me

as their dad, and our family

bonds became stronger and

stronger. I later adopted all four of them and we all now carry the same last

name. While waiting for my work permit, I did some volunteer work, then started

to teach electronics for our community College, Horry Georgetown Tech. A short

time later, I accepted a better-paying job with MetGlass-Honeywell in Conway,

where I worked for three years. During this time I found myself wanting a hobby

and thought that becoming a volunteer firefighter would be a fun pastime. The

Myrtle Beach Fire Department

accepted me into the brotherhood,

and I had a great time. While I

started to grow weary of my job at

Honeywell, I realized that I really

wanted to become a professional

firefighter. Around the same time we

traded our mobile home for a nice,

traditional house on Tranquility

Lane. I was so passionate about my

new profession, I ended up

graduating second in my class at the

Mario, Maria, Samantha, Grace, me (Michael) and Anthon


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Maria, J.J., Andy, Anke, me, Grace, Anthon, Samantha, Heidi, and Mario


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fire academy, and first in paramedic school. In the meantime, Grace’s and my love

for each other grew stronger and stronger, and we had a great relationship. The

kids became adults and started moving out, although every one of them has

moved back once or twice over the years. Maria worked at Food Lion for a

number of years, then became self-employed in the delivery business, and is now

a manager for a loan company. A few years ago, she found her true love, J.J.

Harris, and his two kids Sidra and Reyhan, who adore Maria. The wedding is

planned for this summer. Anthon started a long career with Food Lion, where he

became grocery manager. He married Candace in 2012, who has a daughter,

Samantha. The three of them live nearby in Myrtle Beach. Mario studied politics

at Coastal Carolina University, and followed my example by doing a foreign

student exchange program (in Nagoya, Japan) and finding a girl there to marry.

Heidi is from Australia, and the two of them tied the knot in 2008. Mario decided

to become a second-generation firefighter, started with the Myrtle Beach Fire

Dept. in January 2014. Samantha grew up to be a fine young lady, works in the

hotel business, and I can’t believe my little girl is in her twenties now! Anyway,

Grace and I decided to build a new house in the same neighborhood, Bent Oak

Estates, which was finished in 2006. I now had my own garage, Grace had her

own library, and the kids had a theater/game room we called the “Fun Room.” It

was nice to be able to choose our own floor plan (which Mario helped me design)

and to make everything just the way we liked it. Promotions to Engineer and

Lieutenant brought some small raises with it, but I was still making less than I

used to earn at Honeywell. With tighter finances and growing expenses during the

ensuing recession, I realized that I wasn’t going to retire for a very long time, if

ever, unless I made changes. I decided to take drastic measures and went back to

college on my days off from the Fire Dept. to get a degree in

business, and I graduated in 2012. During the same time, Heidi and I

started attending real estate investment seminars and meetings,

and started a company we named Resolut Global Properties, LLC.

After a year of trial and error, we bought our first rental property, and within the

next three years added a dozen more to the portfolio. We also added a business

partner, my brother-in-law Ram, who has a natural ability to negotiate. Thanks to

Heidi’s drive and vision, our company kept growing, and she was able to quit her


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retail job last year and is now investing full-time. If the business continues to grow

at this pace, Grace and I are now looking forward to an early retirement and lots

of quality time together.

Now, I don’t tell you all this to show off. I actually dislike show-offs. I think

it is important to be humble and not to cause others to be envious. I have a good

life with wonderful people and lots of blessings, and I’m very grateful for it all.

And I tell my story to show where I’m coming from and to demonstrate that

despite it all, there was still something most important missing. There was still a

void in the center of my being, which none of the aforementioned people,

activities or things could fill. Please allow me to tell you the story of my discovery

of the missing key, my relationship with God.

Growing up, I always knew that God

existed. I never doubted it one minute. It

always made sense to me that I wasn’t on

earth by pure chance, but that I was created

and was living for a reason. But for the longest

time, I didn’t know much about God and

didn’t even strive to get closer to Him. My

mom used to take me to church, and part of

me enjoyed going. But I just didn’t really

believe in the Bible, didn’t believe in Jesus at

the time, wasn’t sure if he really existed. One

of my class mates, Ralf, was a true believer,

the only one I knew at the time in my age

group. Whenever he used to tell us about his

beliefs the other kids would make fun of him. I

must confess that I thought he was naïve in

believing it all. But I always sensed that there was something special, something

important about going to church, so I continued attending church, albeit on a very

relaxed schedule. Nothing changed for me for many years. I continued attending

church sporadically and kept searching for my purpose in life elsewhere, and tried

to make sense of it all. I started to shift my focus from things to people, especially

Papa, Mama and me at my First Communion


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my family, and I knew I was on the right track. But there was still something

important missing from my life. It frustrated me and I had some days with

depression from time to time. I thought, here I am, living this wonderful life,

having this amazing wife and children, great family, fulfilling career, and I just

don’t understand what is missing! Then

Grace’s mother, who was living in

Trinidad, got sick, and was diagnosed with

cancer. Grace took a leave of absence to

attend to her and to help her in her final

days. I also visited her a couple of times,

and during this time I noticed that she

always kept her bible by her side, no

matter what. Once, someone took it away

and she became very upset until it was

returned to her. I also noticed how much

strength she derived from bible passages,

and how much it helped her to talk about

her faith. Her minister came almost daily

to pray with her, and other church

members came to spend time with her

and sing gospel songs for her. I realized

how important her faith was to her, how strongly she believed, and how much

hope this gave her. I realized that her most important earthly possession was her

bible, a book that I also owned but have never read! Now, you may think that I

started reading it immediately, after seeing how important it seemed to be. But

that wasn’t the case. Ma passed away, we attended the funeral, Grace came back

home, we grieved, and life started drifting back to normal.

It wasn’t until three months later that I spent some time to think about my

goals in life, my bucket list so to speak. I had lots of traveling plans on it, things I

wanted to do and own, and some career goals. I also thought back to Ma and her

bible, and decided that I should add to my list to read the bible once in my life

time. Honestly, I thought it would be a long and difficult task, and I wasn’t looking


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forward to it. I pictured myself in misery, having to look up every other word in

the dictionary, and not understanding a thing. I really dreaded it and kept putting

it off. But one day in early 2011 I simply opened up my bible on page 1 and

started reading it. I kept reading a few pages each day, and I finished it nine

months later. This was a great experience! It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I had

expected, and I found some familiar stories. I also learned a lot about good moral

behavior. At this time, I still thought that parts of the bible were true and other

parts were just good stories trying to bring a point across. I had the urge to find

out how true and reliable the bible really was. I started attending church

regularly, and even became the trustee. But I was still struggling with my beliefs,

wasn’t fully convinced, even though my own wife has been a true Christian her

whole life. My interest to

learn more was extremely

high, I felt like I had

stumbled on a gold mine

and needed to find out if

what I was holding in my

hand was real gold or

fool’s gold. So, when I was

done with the last book of

the bible, Revelation, I

went straight back to

Genesis and started reading it again. This time I also read several other Christian

books and commentaries alongside with it. Something that really piqued my

interest were books that included scientific examinations of all kinds of evidence,

showing how the bible is actually true and divinely inspired, not a work of fiction

created by men. Fact after fact laid the foundation to the case that the bible

speaks the truth, a case that I believe has to be ruled in favor of the bible beyond

reasonable doubt. Up until then I had always thought that faith was based on

blind belief without proof. I now came to understand that Christianity is based on

actual historic events and a true living God. The multitude of convincing facts

proving the bible’s reliability amazed me and I came to see the bible in a new

light. I realized that it was God’s way of speaking to us, His way of communication


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with His creation. I realized that Jesus is real, that He actually is God, actually

walked on this earth, in the flesh, some 2000 years ago, and the bible contains His

story. Now I realized why the bible was so important to Ma!

Understanding the bible to be the truth, I realized that it contains God’s purpose

for me. In the summer of 2012, I took a hard look at my life. I now had a much

better understanding of God and His will for me, and I realized that I didn’t live up

to His calling. In a sense, I had finally opened my eyes, saw that I had a loving

Master who has control over my destiny, and I wasn’t following His commands! I

made some changes to my lifestyle, cut out some sinful behavior, became more

passionate about God, and was following more closely what the New Testament

says. The more I learned about God, the closer I wanted to be with Him, and the

more I wanted to do His will. It may seem that it would be a burden to make all

these changes and implement a new lifestyle, but it is actually a very positive and

exciting experience. More than ever, I feel happy, free, more satisfied, hopeful

and loved. The “burden” of living a sinless life is not a burden at all if done for the


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right reason and powered by the right motivation, which is my love of God, and

His love for me.

When I was younger, I always thought nobody would ever know the purpose of

life, and that it was ridiculous even to try to find out. But I was wrong. The

purpose of life is described in the bible. Now, I may not be able to condense it

into a single statement, but I feel that I really have a grip on what my purpose in

life is, just by reading the bible and by praying. Improving my relationship with

God has become my most important mission in my life, and it will be a journey

that has its finish line in Heaven. I hope that all my loved ones will join me on this

most important journey, and it is my greatest desire to help anyone along this

way.


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Chapter 2 The Truth

The foundation of my new, purposeful life is the knowledge that the

bible is true. Looking back just a short time, I thought the bible was a

collection of good, moral, mostly fictional stories. It was really

important to me to find out what I could actually believe to be true.

Several books helped me a great deal to understand the bible and its

background better, and I encourage anyone to read them for

themselves. I have listed some in the appendix. I also got helpful

information and insights from sermons, Christian DVD’s and websites,

and from conversations with other Christians. Here are some of the

results of my research, some of the reasons I believe the bible to be the

true word from God.

1. Common Sense. My first and most intuitive reason to believe the

bible is that, after reading it cover-to-cover, it seems real to me,

not fabricated. I have read a lot of books, both fiction and non-

fiction, and with some experience, it is easy to tell the difference.

The bible reads much more like a biography or history book than

a novel. It doesn’t try to paint a pretty picture or hide flaws. Quite

to the contrary, there are countless reports of disobedience to

God, people breaking God’s law, people turning away from God.

In fact, the vast majority of characters in the bible fall in this

category. Even the apostles, Jesus’ closest allies, had character

flaws that made me think, how could they be so ignorant? It

certainly felt real to me.


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2. Archaeology and History. When I think of proof and evidence, it

seems obvious to look for physical clues, such as archaeology

provides. Of course, the setting of the New Testament is some

two thousand years ago, and a lot longer for the Old Testament,

making physical proof rare and difficult to find. The temple in

Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.,

and the ruins are near what is now the most holy place of

Muslims, the Dome of the Rock, and can therefore not be

excavated. But archaeology has nevertheless provided evidence

that the writings of the bible are correct to their time period and

were not fabricated at some later time. Customs and methods

described in the bible were verified with other documents and

found to be correct for the corresponding time periods. Names

Jerusalem


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and locations of cities, countries, kings and other prominent

people have been found inscribed on other documents

unearthed in the Middle East, proving their actual existence in

history. Artifacts such as pottery and weapons found by

archaeologists match those used in the bible. In Jerusalem,

remains of the town wall were found and match the description

in the bible. Even a tunnel and water shaft, that was described in

II Samuel 5:6-8 and I Chronicles 11:6 as having been used by King

David’s army, led by Joab as means to enter into Jerusalem has

been found and its correct location verified.

While there are some debatable findings, not a single piece of

archaeological finding has ever proved the bible conclusively

wrong.

3. Eye witnesses. When judges rule over a case, they may be

cautious about the testimony of a single eye witness, but if

something was seen by two or more people with matching

stories, someone can be acquitted or found guilty by eye witness

reports alone. The events surrounding Christ’s life, death and

resurrection were witnessed by thousands of people! And the

New Testament was written while many of them were still alive

and could have easily rejected and denounced the reports if they

had been wrong. The same is true for the Old Testament. It would

have never survived if any witnesses had attested to its falseness

during the early times of the Israelite history.

When the Pharisees were so eager to destroy Christ, it would

have been easy for them to convict Christ if they had just a

couple of witnesses to disproof his perfect character. But the fact


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is that they had no such witnesses to disprove His claims, not a

single one. They could prove no crime that Jesus had committed.

They ended up sentencing Him to death for His claim to be King

of the Jews. This is evident by the inscription above His cross,

showing his charge: INRI (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum = Jesus

of Nazareth, King of the Jews)

4. Predictions. Prophecies are an incredibly powerful indicator of

the truthfulness of the New Testament, and to the fact that Jesus

really is God’s Son. The Old Testament is filled with prophecies of

the future, and about half of the Old Testament is written by or

about the prophets of those times. Roughly three hundred of

these prophecies predict the birth, life, death and resurrection of

Jesus Christ. Now, wait a minute,

couldn’t a fraud have worked

them into the Old Testament after

Jesus’ ministry on earth? Well,

first of all, there were many copies

of the Old Testament at the time

of Jesus’ death, nobody could

have gone and changed them all,

and made them all to be identical.

Also, by the discovery of the

“Dead Sea” scrolls, here’s another

way that archaeology has helped

to set the bible on a solid

foundation. In 1946, the first set

of Old Testament scrolls was Caves at Qumran near Dead Sea


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found about a mile inland from the shore of the Dead Sea. Over

the next ten years, a total of 972 texts were discovered on

parchment paper rolls, sealed in clay jars, hidden in caves. Now,

here’s the important part: the scrolls were written and sealed

more than three hundred years before Jesus’ birth. And they

contained all the same prophesies about Christ that you and I can

read about in our own bibles! This proves that these prophesies

were not added later, but were actually part of the Old

Testament long before Jesus was born. Here is a sample of these

prophesies:

a. Jesus was to be a descendant of King David.

i. Prophesy in Jeremiah 23:5-7 “’Behold, the days are

coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a

Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and

prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in

the earth.’”

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 1:1-6 “The book of the

genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of

Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob,

…[followed by continuous line of descendants,

including King David].”

b. He was predicted to be born in Bethlehem.

i. Prophesy in Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem

Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands

of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the

One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from

of old, from everlasting.” [Remark: in Micah’s time,

there was more than one Bethlehem. Bethlehem


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Ephrathah is the one closest to Jerusalem, the same

Bethlehem mentioned in Matthew 2:1.]

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 2:1 “Now after Jesus was born

in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,

…”

c. He was to enter Jerusalem on a donkey.

i. Prophesy in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter

of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your

King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,

lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a

donkey.”

ii. Fulfillment in Luke 19:35 [Jesus was about to enter

Jerusalem] “Then they brought him to Jesus. And they

threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus

on him.”

d. He would be betrayed by a friend.

i. Prophesy in Psalm 41:9 “Even my own familiar friend

in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his

heel against me.”

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 26:14-15 “Then one of the

twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

and said, ‘what are you willing to give me if I deliver

Him to you?’”

e. His betrayer would get thirty pieces of silver, then throw

them into God’s house, and they would be used to buy the

potter’s field.

i. Prophesy in Zechariah 11:12-13 “Then I said to them,

‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not,


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refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty

pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to

the potter’ - that princely price they set on me. So I

took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into

the house of the Lord for the potter.”

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 26:15 “and [Judas] said, ‘What

are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And

they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.” And

after the betrayal: Matthew 27:5-7 “Then he threw

down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed,

and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests

took the silver pieces and said, ‘It is not lawful to put

them into the treasury, because they are the price of

blood.’ And they consulted together and bought with

them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.”

f. His disciples would forsake Him.

i. Prophesy in Zechariah 13:7 “…Strike the Shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered; …”

ii. Fulfillment in Mark 14:50 “Then they all forsook Him

and fled.”

g. His hands and feet would be pierced.

i. Prophesy in Psalm 22:16 “… They pierced My hands

and My feet; …”

ii. Prophesy also in Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on

the house of David and on the inhabitants of

Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then

they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will

mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and


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grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”(Remark:

crucifixion wasn’t used for execution until the Romans

introduced it several centuries after these prophesies

were made.)

iii. Fulfillment in Luke 23:33 “And when they had come to

the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and

the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on

the left.”

h. He would be rejected by His own people.

i. Prophesy in Isajah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected

by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was

despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

ii. Prophesy also in Psalm 69:8 “I have become a stranger

to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children;”

iii. Fulfillment in John 7:5 [Jesus speaking:] “The world

cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it

that its works are evil.”

i. His clothes would be parted and gambled off.

i. Prophesy in Psalm 22:18 “They divide My garments

among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

ii. Fulfillment in Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, ‘Father,

forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And

they divided His garments and cast lots.”

j. He would suffer thirst, and they would offer Him vinegar.

i. Prophesy in Psalm 69:21 “They also gave me gall for

my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to

drink.”


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ii. Fulfillment in John 19:29-30 “Now a vessel full of sour

wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with

sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It

is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His

spirit.”

iii. Fulfillment also in Matthew 27:34 “… they gave Him

sour wine mingled with gall to drink.”

k. His bones would not be broken.

i. Prophesy in Psalm 34:20 “He guards all his bones; Not

one of them is broken.”

ii. Fulfillment in John 19:33 “But when they came to

Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not

break His legs.” (Remark: The Romans usually broke

the legs of those they crucified, to ensure death.

Seeing that they did not do this with Jesus shows that

they were certain that he was dead already.)

l. Darkness would fall over the land.

i. Prophesy in Amos 8:9 “’And it shall come to pass in

that day,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will make the sun

go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad

daylight;’”

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth

hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all

the land.” (Remark: in the first century, it was

customary to start counting the hours of the day at

sunrise. Therefore the sixth hour was about noon.)


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m. He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb.

i. Prophesy in Isaiah 53:9 “And they made His grave with

the wicked – but with the rich at His death, because

He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His

mouth.”

ii. Fulfillment in Matthew 27:57-60 “Now when evening

had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea,

named Joseph, who himself had also become a

disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for

the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body

to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body,

he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his

new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he

rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and

departed.”

Of course, you could think that it was all by chance. Or Jesus

could have deliberately made sure they would come true.

Granted, some of the prophesies, like riding into Jerusalem on

a donkey, for example, could have been done with the intent

to fulfill the prophesy. But a large number of prophesies were

out of Jesus’ control, including His place and manner of birth,

the actions of His enemies, and the events after His death. A

mathematician once calculated that the chance of just eight of

these prophesies coming true by mere chance was 1 to

100,000,000,000,000,000. The odds for all of them to come

about by pure chance are unimaginable. Really, you can rule

out chance. The fact is: Jesus’ life and death were predicted


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centuries before His birth, and it came to pass exactly as

predicted.

5. Knowledge ahead of its time. Scientific facts were described in

the bible centuries before they were accepted by society.

Examples include:

a. Earth is not resting on anything, is held in place by invisible

forces; see Job 26:7 “He stretches out the north over empty

space; He hangs the earth on nothing.”

b. The earth is round, not flat; see Isaiah 40:22 “It is He who

sits above the circle of the earth, …”

c. Air has weight; see Job 28:25 “To establish a weight for the

wind, and apportion the waters by measure.”

d. Oceans have natural paths in them; see Psalms 8:8 “…, and

the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.”

e. Most seaworthy ship design ratio is 30:5:3; see Genesis 6:15

“And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark

shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its

height thirty cubits.”

f. Blood is necessary for life; see Leviticus 17:11 “For the life

of the flesh is in the blood…”

g. Blood clotting ability in newborns is greatest at about 8 days

after birth; see Genesis 17:12 “He who is eight days old

among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your

generations, …”

h. Early diagnosis of leprosy; see Leviticus 13:2-3 “When a man

has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright

spot , […] and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and


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the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is

a leprous sore.”

i. Quarantine for disease control; see Leviticus 13:4-6 “But if

the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does

not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not

turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has

the sore seven days.”

While these facts seem obvious to us now, it wasn’t that long ago

that they were disputed. For example, bloodletting was practiced as

a medical treatment of illnesses until the late 19th century, and

many people have died of hypovolemia due to lack of blood,

because people didn’t understand the vitality of blood. How did the

writers of the bible come up with this knowledge?

6. Willingness to sacrifice. People were willing to die for spreading

the Good News. All but one of the apostles died for their beliefs

in Jesus. Countless Christians died the death of a martyr. They

must have been very certain, to willingly pay such a high price! If

they had any doubts, they would have just denied Jesus when

facing prosecution. But they did not. They knew that Jesus was

the one and only way to eternal life, and they were willing to die

for their beliefs in order to gain eternal life. We know this to be

true not just from martyr deaths described in the bible but also

from other documentation and historic documents, many from

the Romans. I consider the documentation from the Romans as

very reliable, not just because the Romans were known to be

meticulous and thorough historians, but mainly because the

Romans were vehemently trying to extinguish the Christian

movement, and would therefore not have fabricated anything


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that gives Christianity more credibility. Here are some examples

of martyrs:

a. Stephen was stoned for speaking the truth of Jesus Christ.

See Acts 6:11-13.

b. Apostle Andrew, brother of Apostle Peter, was crucified on

an X-shaped cross in Peloponnese according to Roman

documents.

c. Apostle Simon Peter was martyred under Nero’s reign

around 65 AD, was crucified upside-down because he

refused to die in the same manner as Jesus.

d. John the Baptist and Apostle James were both beheaded.

e. Mark the evangelist was strangled and dragged through the

streets of Alexandria until death, in 68 AD.

f. Jude was killed with an ax in 65 AD in Beirut, Syria, together

with the apostle Simon the Zealot.

g. Apostle Thomas (the doubter) died by spear while

preaching the good news in India in 52 AD.

h. Polycarp, a follower of the apostle John, was martyred in

Rome. He was burned at the stake.

i. Antipas died for his beliefs, see Revelation 2:13

Historians estimate there were several million people who died

during the last two millennia because they were Christians and

refused to denounce their belief.

7. Lack of proof against Christ from enemies. If the Pharisees or the

Romans had proof against Christ’s claims, they would have surely

brought them out into the open. Christianity would never have

grown if any of its enemies had any substantial proof of its

fallacy. They could never disprove any of His miracles. The


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greatest example would be that of His resurrection. After the

apostles started proclaiming Jesus’ miraculous ascension into

heaven, all the Romans and Pharisees had to do was produce

Jesus’ body. But they couldn’t, because it was no longer on the

earth. You may now say, the body was probably stolen, or maybe

wild animals took it. Or Jesus only swooned and didn’t actually

die. Let’s see, it is well documented that the burial tomb entrance

was blocked and sealed with a large stone, and guarded by a

plurality of soldiers. So, animals couldn’t have taken the body.

The injuries were witnessed by many, and the confirmation by

the roman soldiers by stabbing His side confirmed His death.

Roman soldiers were experts when it came to executions, they

wouldn’t have taken Jesus off the cross if they hadn’t been

certain he was dead. Even if His injuries were not fatal , and He

woke up later, there would have been no way for Him, in his

severely weakened and injured state, to roll away the large stone,

by Himself and from the inside, and do all of this without alerting

the guards. Also, there are no reports of there being blood all

over the tomb. Jesus had many severe injuries. If His heart was

still beating, blood would have flowed from the wounds. I have

seen people who have died from severe injuries. When the heart

stops beating, the blood stops flowing, it’s that simple. There

were no puddles of blood because His heart wasn’t pumping

anymore. In the tomb, His body was definitely dead.

Now, coming back to the guards. Could they have been sound

asleep? The guards at the time knew that falling asleep on the job

was punishable by death. This was a general rule, not just for this

assignment. This is well documented in historic documents. They


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would have most definitely not been asleep. We know that there

were at least two soldiers, likely more. Maybe somebody else

stole the body. Nobody could have snuck by these professionals,

broken the seal, rolled away the stone and removed the body of a

grown man without causing an alert. Well, you may ask, maybe

the Romans or the Pharisees commanded the guards to turn a

blind eye while they stole the body. Think about it, though, this

was the exact opposite of what they wanted. Jesus had claimed

on many occasions that He would rise from the dead. If they stole

the body, or permitted someone else to steal the body, they

would have confirmed the prediction of their own enemy, Jesus,

rather than disproved Him. It was in the best interest of the

Romans as well as the Pharisees to ensure that Jesus’ corpse

remain in the tomb for more than three days. They certainly

would have put their best guards on the assignment.

None of these attempts to explain the disappearance of Christ’s

body are reasonable or logical.

8. Cowards turn into brave preachers. A careful review of the four

gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John reveals how

cowardice Jesus’ apostles were. They were a bunch of very

ordinary men from humble backgrounds who would rather hide

and deny Christ than to get exposed and punished. The account

of Peter denying knowing Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial is

the perfect example. Yet, after Jesus’ resurrection, these scared

and withdrawn men turned into mighty fearless teachers, willing

to do whatever it took to spread the good news! Read the book

of Acts, which describes the events following Jesus’ resurrection,


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and you will see a miraculous transformation of the same group

of men. Peter, for example, turned from denier into the rock on

which His church would be built. What caused this drastic

transformation of the attitude of all of these men? It was the

appearance of the resurrected Christ, which made them believe

that He really is God’s Son.

9. The influence that Jesus’ life has on us today. Everywhere you

look, Christianity has influenced our lives. From laws, to culture,

customs and holidays, no other historic event has ever had such

an extensive influence. If the events of the bible had been

fictional, would we now celebrate Christmas, visit churches

everywhere, and call the years according to how long after

Christ’s birth? Would Easter be a public holiday, would prayer in

schools be such a big point of discussion, would Christian book

stores and radio stations exist if it was all based on a fictional

story? In my opinion, the answer is obvious.

10. Was Jesus an Imposter, crazy, or really the son of God? The

fact that Jesus really did live on earth about 2000 years ago is not

contested, neither by historians, nor by leaders of other religious

groups, e.g. Muslims or Jews. His physical life on earth can be

taken as a fact. But was He really God’s Son? This is an important

question to consider, and goes hand-in-hand with the question if

the bible is true. First part of the question is, was Christ just a

mere man, or was He really the Son of God? If He was just a mere

man, He could have either known or not known the truth. In

other words, logic leaves only three options. Either He was just a


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man, and lied about being God; or He was just a man but truly

thought He was God; or He really was/is God. Let’s take these

three options one at a time.

a. First consideration: He was a mere man and a liar. What if

Jesus was just a mere man, and knew it. This means that He

was lying about everything and to everyone. He would have

been an imposter, the greatest fraud of all times. It also

means that He knowingly went through many hardships and

tribulations which He could have easily avoided by

denouncing His claim to deity. He could have stopped His

trial, abuse, punishment, whipping and crucifixion at any

time by saying that He wasn’t the Messiah. It is

incomprehensible that someone with a sane mind would

have continued a lie through all this. On a human level,

there was nothing for this man to gain at that point. His

closest friends had already betrayed, denied and forsaken

Him, and He would have nothing to gain by continuing to

lie. He could have instantly stopped His pain with mere

words, but He didn’t.

Also, if He was a liar, He would have been a colossal

hypocrite. His teachings were based on love and honesty,

and by lying, He would have been violating His own

teachings every time He opened His mouth! Also, if He

knew that He was just an ordinary man, He would have

greatly deceived His followers by telling them that they

could only be saved through Him, which is an incredibly evil

thing to do.

To sum it up, if He was just a normal man and knew it, He


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would have also been a foolish, suicidal, evil, lying

hypocrite. He couldn’t have been a convincing teacher or

leader, and nobody could be this great an actor for a whole

three years straight with a dozen people watching His every

move and listening to His every word. Impossible

consideration!

b. Second consideration: He was a mere man and a lunatic. If

He was just an ordinary man and not the Son of God, but

believed this to be the case, He would be classified as crazy.

And not just a little bit, but this would have been a worst-

case scenario for lunacy! Now, what lunatic is able to come

up with the greatest teachings this world has ever seen? No

philosopher has come up with better morals and ethics than

Jesus. No other teacher has ever been more passionate,

charismatic and convincing than Jesus. Jesus was smart,

knowledgeable, social, loving, and charismatic. He certainly

didn’t show any signs of craziness! Historian Philip Schaff

wrote: “Is such an intellect – clear as the sky, bracing as the

mountain air, sharp and penetrating as the sword,

thoroughly healthy and vigorous, always ready and always

self-possessed – liable to a radical and most serious

delusion concerning His own character and mission?

Preposterous imagination!”

c. Third consideration: He is Lord! If Jesus of Nazareth is not a

liar or a lunatic, then there is only one option left. He must

be the long-awaited Messiah, our Lord, and God’s Son! All

the evidence points to this conclusion.


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The preceding ten references to evidence are really just the tip of the

iceberg. Each point could be analyzed much deeper, and each point

would be much more strengthened. There are also additional pieces of

evidence for a truthful bible, e.g. the fact that the bible has survived all

those attempts to eradicate it. Or the fact that despite all those myriad

times that it had been copied, it is the most error-free ancient book we

have. Or the fact that it contains no absolute contradictions at all,

despite being written over a time span of about 1500 years, by over 40

different authors, many of whom have never met one another, coming

from vastly different educational and social backgrounds, living in

different areas and writing under different circumstances! How is it

possible that this seemingly piecemeal of a book tells one great story?

This is so, because it was inspired by our Lord and Maker, God Himself.

He guided and instructed the writers of the bible, using their individual

style and form, but gave them error-free memory and divine insight.

Bottom line, the bible is true, and it is God’s way of communicating

with us.


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Chapter 3 The Life

If you have read chapter 2 and still don’t believe the bible to be the

truth, there is no use for you to continue reading this chapter.

Everything following is based on the fact that the bible is true. If you

have doubts, I strongly encourage you to do your own research, come

to your own conclusions, and see for yourself. As a matter of fact, I

challenge you to try to prove the bible wrong! A lot of people, including

attorneys, scientists and college professors, have tried this and failed.

Many of these actually became Christians after examining the

evidence! A good example of this is Lee Strobel, an atheist court

journalist who decided to prove that Jesus wasn’t God’s Son, and ended

up proving the opposite.

Nothing can substitute for reading the bible for yourself. If you are not

sure where to start, allow me to suggest the following reading plan (see

also Appendix B):

1. Luke

2. Acts (written by Luke)

3. Matthew

4. Romans

5. Mark

6. John

7. Remainder of the New

Testament (First Corinthians through Revelation)

8. Old Testament (Genesis through Malachi)


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You may wonder why I suggest reading the New Testament first. The

reason is that we no longer have to follow the laws of the Old

Testament. This is so, because Jesus had established the New Covenant

at the time of His death, replacing the old law. The New Testament,

therefore, has much more significance for Christians, teaching us what

God expects from us and how to live a good, Christian life.

Old Testament stories often seemed strange and unfamiliar to me. Yet,

it is still very valuable to read the Old Testament, for it teaches us about

God, creation, biblical history, and the law and customs under which

Jesus was living. After all, Jesus was a Jew and had to obey his Father’s

covenant just like all other Jews. The old law was laid to rest at the time

of Jesus’ death, and the new covenant came into effect, i.e. the New

Testament.

I must admit, some parts of the bible can be difficult to understand. I

know people who have been studying the bible daily for decades and

still don’t understand everything. The setting is in a distant land and the

customs of two thousand years ago were quite different from ours

today. Not everything is meant to be taken literally, the use of parables

and poetic language was wide-spread. And some passages don’t seem

to make sense until they are analyzed according to their context and

background, and not isolated. And the language, depending on which

version you read, may use words we no longer use or which now have

different meanings. (I recommend reading the New King James Version;

it is highly accurate and uses modern-day English.) But the message is

still just as valid as it was back then. It is timeless! The bible is densely

packed with wisdom. You can take a single verse and gain various

insights from it. Some 2000 - 3500 years ago, God spoke to people

through prophets. There haven’t been any prophets since Jesus’ time,


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and now God exclusively speaks to us through the bible. This is what

makes the bible so valuable to us. It is God’s way of speaking to us. If

you believe in God and know that He controls your destiny, wouldn’t

you want to know what He has to say? Talking about destiny, this brings

me to an important point. In chapter 1, I mentioned making a goals list,

things I wanted to achieve. After I became a true Christian, I updated

my list, containing mostly travel destinations, career ambitions, and fun

activities. I added two goals to the top of the list, which are far more

important than any other goals of mine. My new top priority goal is to

gain eternal life in heaven. The second priority goal is to help as many

people as possible to accompany me. If I don’t achieve these goals, my

life will have been completely wasted. No, much worse than that. If I

don’t achieve these two goals, I will have to spend eternity apart from

God, apart from good Christian friends and family members, burning in

the eternal flames of hell, with no hope and no chance of pardon! This

is obviously of greatest importance to me. From reading the bible, I

realized that life on earth is very short, James 4:14 “It [life] is even a

vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Ask any

older person, and they will tell you that time flies! I know that we will

have eternal life after our souls leave our physical bodies. I came up

with a very simple diagram that I taped to the dry erase board right

above my calendar. I look at it every day. It reminds me how little time I

have to get ready for eternity. It looks like this:

The vertical line on the very left is the time of my birth, and the line


39

right next to it is my death. The arrow points to now. In the grand

scheme of things, my life is really short, and every day counts.

Everything to the right of the second line is eternity. And there are only

two possible places to go to spend eternity: heaven or hell. I think there

is nothing more important in life than to make sure I will go to heaven,

where God is, where there are no evil people, where there is no pain,

no death, no sorrow, and no crying. Nothing is more important than to

make sure I do not go to hell, where the pain never stops, where there

is no hope and no relief. I used to be naïve and thought that all “good”

people automatically go to heaven. And I always thought of myself as a

“good” person, so I wasn’t much worried about this, though I never

bothered figuring out what “good” means. God’s definition of “good” is

different from mine.

But now that I know the bible to be the true word of God, having read

it, I know that it is in God’s hands where I go. He surely doesn’t allow

just anyone into heaven. God is perfect, pure and without sin, and He

can’t allow anyone into heaven that is not pure, holy, and clean of sin.

It’s like you just finished sweeping and mopping your floors, and

someone wants to come inside whose shoes are covered in thick mud.

No way! God gives all of us a chance to clean ourselves from sin, a

process called sanctification. Only those who “clean up their soul” can

enter heaven. Many people don’t take the necessary steps. Apostle

Matthew quotes Jesus in chapter 7, verses 13 and 14 “Enter by the

narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to

destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is

the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few

who find it.” This is a life-changing verse! I choose the narrow gate, and

I’m determined to take the difficult way, to make it to heaven.


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Thanks to Don Blackwell, Executive Director of the Gospel Broadcasting

Network, and the World Video Bible School, for the following diagram,

depicting the two possible ways we may spend eternity:

There are no other options, and there is no turning around once you

have gone through the wide gate. Seek the narrow gate while you still

can!

God left us with specific instructions on what it takes to go to heaven.

The bible is pretty clear that all steps are required. Here are the five

essential steps for becoming a Christian:

1. One must hear the gospel. (Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by

hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”)


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2. One must believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. (John 8:24 “… if you do

not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”)

3. One must repent of their sins. (Luke 13:3 “… but unless you

repent you will all likewise perish.”)

4. One must confess Jesus as Lord. (Romans 10:10 “For with the

heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth

confession is made unto salvation.”)

5. One must be baptized for the remission of sin. (Mark 16:16 “He

who believes and is baptized

will be saved.”

After fulfilling these five steps in

earnest, we have been cleansed

from our sins through the blood of

Jesus Christ who died on the cross

as the perfect sacrifice for us, to pay

for our sins. If we were to die right

after fulfilling these essential steps,

we would surely go to heaven. But

when we continue to live, we need

to also keep our souls from

“becoming dirty again,” so to speak.

It wouldn’t be a “difficult way” if we

were done and didn’t need to worry

about anything else for the rest of

our earthly lives. There’s no

automatic salvation. It takes effort. We must lead our lives following

God’s will. Matthew 7:21 quoted Jesus “Not everyone who says to Me,

My baptism


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‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the

will of My Father in heaven.”

So, in order to reach my first and most important goal, to reach heaven,

I must follow the five steps (which I have already done) and then

continue to live according to God’s will. How do I know what God’s will

is? By reading the bible, of course, and by attending church services and

bible studies. I’m blessed to have a preacher, Ramdeo Ramdeen, who

knows the bible extremely well and has great teaching abilities. He

preaches straight from the bible, nothing more and nothing less. I also

do a lot of additional reading. One book that helped me a lot with

understanding God’s will for me was the book “The Purpose Driven

Life” by Rick Warren. You have probably heard of it, it is a #1 New York

Times best seller. I highly recommend it.

The bible is full of instructions and commands on what God wants us to

do and not to do. Thankfully, Jesus summed them up for us, and said

that all others are based on these two. Matthew 22:37, 38 Jesus said to

him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all

your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great

commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor

as yourself.’” If we truly follow these two commandments, we are good

to go! To heaven, that is. Not coincidentally, these two main

commandments go hand-in-hand with my two main goals in life. First, I

make sure I’m on the right path to heaven myself, and second, I help

others accompany me.

OK, now, I know that it would be nice to have some specifics, some

examples, and some clearer instructions for everyday life. Here is my


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attempt to come up with a list of what God tells us in the New

Testament that He wants us to do:

1. Take the needed steps to get right with God. Hear (or read) the

gospel, believe in Jesus as your Lord, repent of your sins (which

also means, stop sinning to the best of your ability), confess Jesus

as Lord, and be baptized. We have to get right ourselves before

we can help others. When a plane gets in trouble, we are always

instructed to put the oxygen mask on ourselves before helping

others. It’s the same here. We can’t help others before we take

the basic steps and start our journey on the right path.

2. Shape your character, using Jesus as your example. This is a life-

long process. Prepare yourself for eternity in heaven, a place of

purity and love. Therefore, be loving, honest, and fair. Become a

humble servant, don’t be arrogant, don’t be jealous or greedy.

Don’t cheat, gamble, get drunk, or start fights. Rather, promote

peace, unity, faith, hope and love.

3. Worship God. God made it very clear that there is no other God,

and that it is a sin to worship another god or idols. He wants us to

worship Him, to praise Him, to sing and to pray to Him. He

instructs us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23,24)

God wants to have a strong Father-son (or Father-daughter)

relationship with us, and we can only become close if we spend

quality time together. Don’t put someone or something else

higher than God. God has to be our center, and He has to be our

top priority. Don’t push God aside in favor of money, possessions,

sex, alcohol, drugs or gambling. When we have reached the end

of our life on earth, we will be sorry when we realize we have

spent our life going down the broad way and we stand at the wide


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gate that leads to destruction. Instead, we need to worship God,

spend quality time with Him, and always put Him first.

I’ve heard of people who think they can do whatever they want

throughout their lives, and then on their death bed just ask for

forgiveness and go to heaven. I have at least two concerns with

this. One, I don’t think God will accept such a deceitful request for

pardon, if they treated Him like nothing for all those years. And

second, death often comes unexpected and won’t give you a

chance to make it right at the last minute. This is not a risk anyone

should take. Lead a godly life always, and be ready, always. This

way our conscious is clear, and we will always have the

reassurance and faith that our eternal destiny is secure. The only

true freedom and joy in this world is the knowledge that we are

right with God, and that we are bound for heaven.

4. Fellowship with other Christians. Life’s all about relationships and

God wants us to spend quality time not only with Him but also

with other Christians. The most obvious place for this is at church,

of course. But we should also try to surround ourselves with

family and friends who are true Christians. This is like a support

group, which can help us stay on the right track. It is easy to lose

sight of the price and to get side-tracked. Real Christian friends

and family members will be there to correct us and bring us back

into the light. When selecting a congregation to attend, we should

make sure that it is bible based and true to God’s word. The New

Testament tells us what Jesus wants His church to be like, and we

need to follow these instructions if we want to please God.

5. Spread the gospel. God wants everyone to be with Him in heaven,

and He needs our help to get other people ready and on the right


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path. We can do this by telling others about the good news. By

the way, the good news is that Jesus was crucified, died for the

forgiveness of our sins, and ascended into heaven. Without this

we would not be worthy and pure to go to heaven, Jesus is our

only hope to make it. Other ways to spread the gospel are by

being a good example ourselves, leading good Christian lives that

others will want to emulate. Confess Jesus as your Lord and

Savior. Write to others, like I’m doing right now. Reach out to

people who don’t believe or don’t know. Maybe even go on a

mission trip. I’m planning on going on my first mission trip next

year; I’m very excited about it and think I can make a real

difference in some people’s lives! Be creative, there are many

ways we can help others find the right way.

6. Enjoy the blessings. Yes, God will bless us in many ways for being

faithful, and He wants us to enjoy those blessings. Just be sure

you always keep him in first place. And be humble; don’t cause

others to envy you. Many people have it all backwards, and spend

most of their time enjoying the blessings and little time praising

the Provider.

You may think you are not all that blessed, but just think under

what conditions many people live. Compare your life to that of a

sick, homeless person, or that of someone living in a third world

country. I’m sure if you start counting your blessings in this light,

you will end up with a very, very long list! There’s no better

remedy for depression than to make this list and to remember

that God is your Provider and your Savior, that He is your Father

and that you are a child of the most high God! And remember


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that the biggest blessing is yet to come: a mansion He prepared

for us in heaven!

As with everything in life, we need to have the right balance. All of the

above should be part of our lives. God knows we are only human, and

that we will fall short of His expectations. But He will know if we gave it

our best, He will know if we really tried. Give it your best effort! You

will be rewarded!


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Conclusion: The Purpose of Life In the introduction, I mentioned that I used to think that it was

impossible to know the purpose of life. After studying the bible, I stand

corrected. It is possible to know the purpose of life. Here is what I

found out, to the best of my abilities, what my purpose of life is. Please

allow me to use an analogy. I believe life is like a school. We get the

opportunity to learn and better ourselves. In grade school, our parents

made sure we were there, but nobody could force us to actually learn

anything. That had to come from within ourselves. It’s the same in life,

we are “forced” to be on earth (no other choice, really), but nobody can

force us to better ourselves spiritually. Our textbook is the holy bible.

God is our principal, and our greatest teacher is Jesus Christ. He is

assisted by our local preachers, as well as the authors of books, the

presenters of educational videos and so on. There are teachers with

their own agenda that can lead you astray. But Jesus will never mislead

you. You cannot go wrong reading the bible and learning from Jesus

Himself.

Continuing with my school analogy, there are also assignments and

home work. There are certain things God wants us to do. If we don’t do

them, that will bring down our grade.

Life is also a test. Like the final exams in school, we are tested to see if

we learned and if we built our character. When we pass the tests in

school, many doors are opened, to attend great colleges, get fine jobs

and lead prosperous lives. If we don’t pass the tests in school, we fail

the grade, don’t make it to college, live poor lives. I believe God is

testing us. He wants to see if we learned, if we are worthy to be with

Him in heaven. If not, we’ll have to go to that other place, hell. So, how

do you pass the test? When is the test? Well, it’s every day. God


48

watches you and looks to see if you do His will. Study the bible, and

then take action and do what it says. That’s how you pass the test.

There’s also an admission test. I have described the five steps necessary

to become a Christian in the last chapter. If you don’t do all steps, guess

what, you are not even admitted! How can you graduate college if you

are not even admitted to attend?

For comparison, if the recipe for a successful school career is to get

admitted into school, study the text books, listen to the teacher,

complete all assignments and homework, prepare for the exams, pass

the exams and graduate; Then the recipe for a successful Christian life

is to get admitted into Christianity, study the bible, listen to Jesus and

to our preachers, do God’s will, prepare your character and soul for

eternal life, lead a life that is pleasing to God, and pass His judgment on

judgment day.

This is the purpose of life: Our purpose is to please and praise God, to

prepare ourselves for eternal life in heaven and to help others get on

the right path, to be among the few who walk through the narrow

gate into the heavenly kingdom.

Heaven is our sweet reward: Revelation 21:2-7 “Then I, John, 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 heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He

will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, God Himself will be

with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from

their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There

shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then

He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He


49

said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to

me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the

End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who

thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God

and he shall be My son.”


50


51

A special thanks to the following

friends and family members for their help and advice:

Ramdeo Ramdeen, Andreas Beck, Ralf Kreyn, Lois Weatherford,

John Shumway, Wesly Gray, and Sam Vaccaro.

Thanks also to my family and to my Christian brothers and sisters

for all their love and support throughout this quest.


52

Appendix A: Recommended Literature English:

1. The Bible, New King James Version

(I find this to be the most accurate translation while still using modern

day English)

2. “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis

(This is an excellent summary of what Christianity is all about. Written by

former atheist, C.S. Lewis, an accomplished literature professor and

author)

3. “The Case for Christ – A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence

for Jesus” by Lee Strobel

(Explains why the bible is true, written by a former atheist court reporter)

4. “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren

(#1 New York Times bestseller, deals with Christian living and purpose)

5. “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell

(A very, very in-depth analysis of evidence that the bible is true. Covers

virtually all aspects of proof, very scientific and thorough, 760 pages)

6. “Don’t Waste your Life” by John Piper

(Explains the urgency of getting your life right with God)

7. “Becoming a Faithful Christian” by David Roper, Eddie Cloer, Nick Hamilton

and Mike Knappier

(Deals with the consequences of accepting Christ in your life)

8. “God’s Story, Your Story” by Max Lucado

(Inspirational book on everyday life with God)

9. “The Jesus I never knew” by Philip Yancey

(A new look at Jesus’ life through the eyes of a journalist)

10. “The Smart Guide to the Bible” by Larry Richards

(Get to know the bible better. Chapter-by-chapter background,

explanations and summaries. If the bible seems overwhelming at first,

this book can help you get started and not lose the big picture.)


53

11. “The Purpose of Christmas” by Rick Warren

(A review of what Christmas really means to Christians)

12. “See you at the Finish Line” by Don Wilton

(Practical advice for Christians)

13. “The Bible Doctrine of Jesus Christ” by Robert Taylor, Jr.

(Overview of the teachings of Jesus)

14. “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen

(Inspirational and encouraging messages)

15. Gospel Broadcasting Network: www.gbntv.org

(Videos on various topics of Christian interest)

German:

1. Die Bibel

2. “Pardon, ich bin ein Christ. Meine Argumente fuer den Glauben” by C.S.

Lewis

3. “Leben mit Vision. Wozu um alles in der Welt lebe ich?” by Rick Warren

4. “Die Fakten des Glaubens” by Josh McDowell

5. “Lebe jetzt!: Beginnen Sie heute Ihr bestes Leben” by Joel Osteen

6. “Ich glaube der Bibel! Warum?” by Rene Chenaux-Repond

7. “Ich glaube an Jesus! Warum?” by Rene Chenaux-Repond

8. “Muendige Gemeinde” by Dieter Alten

9. “Leben – was sonst. Das wunderbare Wissen der Bibel” by Ludger Hohn

http://www.gbntv.org/


54

Appendix B: Bible Reading Plans Following a reading plan helps to stay on track and to read the bible in an organized and thorough

fashion. I suggest two plans here, the first one according to my recommendation in chapter 3, and the

other one according to chronologic occurrence.

Plan 1: My recommended reading plan for first-time bible readers (whole bible in one year):

Luke 1 Luke 2-3 Luke 4-5 Luke 6-7 Luke 8-9 Luke 10-11 Luke 12-13 Luke 14-16 Luke 17-18 Luke 19-20 Luke 21-22 Luke 23-24 Acts 1-3 Acts 4-6 Acts 7-8 Acts 9-10 Acts 11-13 Acts 14-15 Acts 16-17 Acts 18-20 Acts 21-23 Acts 24-26 Acts 27-28 Matt 1-4 Matt 5-6 Matt 7-8 Matt 9-10 Matt 11-12 Matt 13-14 Matt 15-17 Matt 18-19 Matt 20-21 Matt 22-23 Matt 24-25 Matt 26 Matt 27-28 Rom 1-3 Rom 4-7 Rom 8-10 Rom 11-13 Rom 14-16 Mark 1-3 Mark 4-5 Mark 6-7 Mark 8-9 Mark 10-11 Mark 12-13 Mark 14

Gen 48-50 Ex 1-3 Ex 4-6 Ex 7-9 Ex 10-12 Ex 13-15 Ex 16-18 Ex 19-21 Ex 22-24 Ex 25-27 Ex 28-29 Ex 30-32 Ex 33-35 Ex 36-38 Ex 39-40 Lev 1-4 Lev 5-7 Lev 8-10 Lev 11-13 Lev 14-15 Lev 16-18 Lev 19-21 Lev 22-23 Lev 24-25 Lev 26-27 Num 1-2 Num 3-4 Num 5-6 Num 7 Num 8-10 Num 11-13 Num 14-15 Num 16-17 Num 18-20 Num 21-22 Num 23-25 Num 26-27 Num 28-30 Num 31-32 Num 33-34 Num 35-36 Deut 1-2 Deut 3-4 Deut 5-7 Deut 8-10 Deut 11-13 Deut 14-16 Deut 17-20

1Chron 9-11 1Chron 12-14 1Chron 15-17 1Chron 18-21 1Chron 22-24 1Chron 25-27 1/2Chron 28-1 2Chron 2-5 2Chron 6-8 2Chron 9-12 2Chron 13-17 2Chron 18-20 2Chron 21-24 2Chron 25-27 2Chron 28-31 2Chron 32-34 2Chron 35-36 Ezra 1-3 Ezra 4-7 Ezra 8-10 Neh 1-3 Neh 4-6 Neh 7 Neh 8-9 Neh 10-11 Neh 12-13 Est 1-5 Est 6-10 Job 1-4 Job 5-7 Job 8-10 Job 11-13 Job 14-16 Job 17-20 Job 21-23 Job 24-28 Job 29-31 Job 32-34 Job 35-37 Job 38-39 Job 40-42 Ps 1-8 Ps 9-16 Ps 17-20 Ps 21-25 Ps 26-31 Ps 32-35 Ps 36-39

Is 49-53 Is 54-58 Is 59-63 Is 64-66 Jer 1-3 Jer 4-6 Jer 7-9 Jer 10-13 Jer 14-17 Jer 18-22 Jer 23-25 Jer 26-29 Jer 30-31 Jer 32-34 Jer 35-37 Jer 38-41 Jer 42-45 Jer 46-48 Jer 49-50 Jer 51-52 Lam 1-3:36 Lam 3:37-5 Ezek 1-4 Ezek 5-8 Ezek 9-12 Ezek 13-15 Ezek 16-17 Ezek 18-20 Ezek 21-22 Ezek 23-24 Ezek 25-27 Ezek 28-30 Ezek 31-33 Ezek 34-36 Ezek 37-39 Ezek 40-42 Ezek 43-45 Ezek 46-48 Dan 1-3 Dan 4-6 Dan 7-9 Dan 10-12 Hos 1-7 Hos 8-14 Joel Amos 1-5 Amos 6-9 Oba-Jonah

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+1

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+2-3











http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=acts+1-3











http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+1-4











http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+26


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=rom+1-3





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=mark+1-3






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=mark+14

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=gen+48-50

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ex+1-3














http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=lev+1-4










http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=num+1-2



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=num+7













http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=deut+1-2







http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1chron+9-11






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1chron+28-29;2chron+1











http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ezra+1-3



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=neh+1-3


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=neh+7




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=est+1-5


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=job+1-4













http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+1-8







http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=is+49-53




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=jer+1-3
















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=lam+1-3:36

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=lam+3:37-5:22

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ezek+1-4
















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=dan+1-3




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=hos+1-7


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=joel+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=amos+1-5


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=oba+1;jonah+1-4


55

Mark 15-16 John 1-2 John 3-4 John 5-6 John 7-8 John 9-10 John 11-12 John 13-15 John 16-18 John 19-21 1Cor 1-4 1Cor 5-8 1Cor 9-11 1Cor 12-14 1Cor 15-16 2Cor 1-4 2Cor 5-9 2Cor 10-13 Gal 1-3 Gal 4-6 Eph 1-3 Eph 4-6 Philippians 1-4 Colossians 1-4 1 Thess 1-5 2 Thess 1-3 1 Timothy 1-6 2 Timothy 1-4 Titus-Philemon Heb 1-6 Heb 7-10 Heb 11-13

James 1-5 1 Peter 1-5 2 Peter 1-3 1 John 1-5 2John-Jude Rev 1-3 Rev 4-8 Rev 9-12 Rev 13-16 Rev 17-19 Rev 20-22 Gen 1-3 Gen 4-7 Gen 8-11 Gen 12-15 Gen 16-18 Gen 19-21 Gen 22-24 Gen 25-26 Gen 27-29 Gen 30-31 Gen 32-34 Gen 35-37 Gen 38-40 Gen 41-42 Gen 43-45 Gen 46-47

Deut 21-23 Deut 24-27 Deut 28-29 Deut 30-31 Deut 32-34 Josh 1-4 Josh 5-8 Josh 9-11 Josh 12-15 Josh 16-18 Josh 19-21 Josh 22-24 Jud 1-2 Jud 3-5 Jud 6-7 Jud 8-9 Jud 10-12 Jud 13-15 Jud 16-18 Jud 19-21 Ruth 1Sam 1-3 1Sam 4-8 1Sam 9-12 1Sam 13-14 1Sam 15-17 1Sam 18-20 1Sam 21-24 1Sam 25-27 1Sam 28-31 2Sam 1-3 2Sam 4-7

2Sam 8-12 2Sam 13-15 2Sam 16-18 2Sam 19-21 2Sam 22-24 1King 1-2 1King 3-5 1King 6-7 1King 8-9 1King 10-11 1King 12-14 1King 15-17 1King 18-20 1King 21-22 2King 1-3 2King 4-5 2King 6-8 2King 9-11 2King 12-14 2King 15-17 2King 18-19 2King 20-22 2King 23-25 1Chron 1-2 1Chron 3-5 1Chron 6 1Chron 7-8

Ps 40-45 Ps 46-50 Ps 51-57 Ps 58-65 Ps 66-69 Ps 70-73 Ps 74-77 Ps 78-79 Ps 80-85 Ps 86-89 Ps 90-95 Ps 96-102 Ps 103-105 Ps 106-107 Ps 108-114 Ps 115-118 Ps 119:1-88 Ps 119:89-176 Ps 120-132 Ps 133-139 Ps 140-145 Ps 146-150 Prov 1-3 Prov 4-6 Prov 7-9 Prov 10-12 Prov 13-15 Prov 16-18 Prov 19-21 Prov 22-23 Prov 24-26 Prov 27-29

Prov 30-31 Ecc 1-4 Ecc 5-8 Ecc 9-12 Solomon 1-8 Is 1-4 Is 5-8 Is 9-12 Is 13-17 Is 18-22 Is 23-27 Is 28-30 Is 31-35 Is 36-41 Is 42-44 Is 45-48

Micah 1-7 Nahum 1-3 Hab-Zeph Haggai 1-2 Zech 1-7 Zech 8-14 Malachi 1-4


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=john+1-2









http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1cor+1-4








http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=gal+1-3


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=eph+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=eph+4-6

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=philippians+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=colossians+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1thess+1-5

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2thess+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1timothy+1-6

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2timothy+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=titus+1-3;philemon+1

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=heb+1-6



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=james+1-5

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1peter+1-5


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1john+1-5

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2john+1;3john+1;jude+1

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=rev+1-3



























http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=josh+1-4







http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=judg+1-2








http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ruth+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1sam+1-3
















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+1-2




















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1chron+6


















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+119:1-88






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=prov+1-3











http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ecc+1-4



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=solomon+1-8












http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=micah+1-7

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=nahum+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=hab+1-3;zeph+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=haggai+1-2

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=zech+1-7


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=malachi+1-4


56

Reading Plan 2: Whole bible in one year, in order of chronological occurrence

Jan 1: Gen 1-3

Jan 2: Gen 4-7

Jan 3: Gen 8-11

Jan 4: Job 1-5

Jan 5: Job 6-9

Jan 6: Job 10-13

Jan 7: Job 14-16

Jan 8: Job 17-20

Jan 9: Job 21-23

Jan 10: Job 24-28

Jan 11: Job 29-31

Jan 12: Job 32-34

Jan 13: Job 35-37

Jan 14: Job 38-39

Jan 15: Job 40-42

Jan 16: Gen 12-15

Jan 17: Gen 16-18

Jan 18: Gen 19-21

Jan 19: Gen 22-24

Jan 20: Gen 25-26

Jan 21: Gen 27-29

Jan 22: Gen 30-31

Jan 23: Gen 32-34

Jan 24: Gen 35-37

Jan 25: Gen 38-40

Jan 26: Gen 41-42

Jan 27: Gen 43-45

Jan 28: Gen 46-47

Jan 29: Gen 48-50

Jan 30: Ex 1-3

Jan 31: Ex 4-6

Feb 1: Ex 7-9

Feb 2: Ex 10-12

Feb 3: Ex 13-15

Feb 4: Ex 16-18

Feb 5: Ex 19-21

Feb 6: Ex 22-24

Feb 7: Ex 25-27

Feb 8: Ex 28-29

Feb 9: Ex 30-32

Feb 10: Ex 33-35

Feb 11: Ex 36-38

Feb 12: Ex 39-40

Feb 13: Lev 1-4

Feb 14: Lev 5-7

May 3: Ps 106-107

May 4: 2Sam 5:11-6:23; 1Chron 13-16

May 5: Ps 1-2/15/22-24/47/68

May 6: Ps 89/96/100-101/105/132

May 7: 2Sam 7; 1Chron 17

May 8: Ps 25/29/33/36/39

May 9: 2Sam 8-9; 1Chron 18

May 10: Ps 50/53/60/75

May 11: 2Sam10; 1Chron 19; Ps 20

May 12: Ps 65-67/69-70

May 13: 2Sam 11-12; 1Chron 20

May 14: Ps 32/51/86/122

May 15: 2Sam 13-15

May 16: Ps 3-4/12-13/28/55

May 17: 2Sam 16-18

May 18: Ps 26/40/58/61-62/64

May 19: 2Sam 19-21

May 20: Ps 5/38/41-42

May 21: 2Sam 22-23; Ps 57

May 22: Ps 95/97-99

May 23: 2Sam 24; 1Chron 21-22; Ps 30

May 24: Ps 108-110

May 25: 1Chron 23-25

May 26: Ps 131/138-139/143-145

May 27: 1Chron 26-29; Ps 127

May 28: Ps 111-118

May 29: 1King 1-2; Ps 37/71/94

May 30: Ps 119:1-88

May 31: 1King 3-4; 2Chron 1; Ps 72

Jun 1: Ps 119:89-176

Jun 2: Solomon 1-8

Jun 3: Prov 1-3

Jun 4: Prov 4-6

Jun 5: Prov 7-9

Jun 6: Prov 10-12

Jun 7: Prov 13-15

Jun 8: Prov 16-18

Jun 9: Prov 19-21

Jun 10: Prov 22-24

Jun 11: 1King 5-6; 2Chron 2-3

Jun 12: 1King 7; 2Chron 4


Jun 14: 2Chron 6-7; Ps 136

Jun 15: Ps 134/146-150


Sep 2: Ezek 20-21

Sep 3: Ezek 22-23

Sep 4: Ezek 24-27

Sep 5: Ezek 28-31

Sep 6: Ezek 32-34

Sep 7: Ezek 35-37

Sep 8: Ezek 38-39

Sep 9: Ezek 40-41

Sep 10: Ezek 42-43

Sep 11: Ezek 44-45

Sep 12: Ezek 46-48

Sep 13: Joel

Sep 14: Dan 1-3

Sep 15: Dan 4-6

Sep 16: Dan 7-9

Sep 17: Dan 10-12

Sep 18: Ezra 1-3

Sep 19: Ezra 4-6; Ps 137

Sep 20: Haggai 1-2

Sep 21: Zech 1-7

Sep 22: Zech 8-14

Sep 23: Est 1-5

Sep 24: Est 6-10

Sep 25: Ezra 7-10

Sep 26: Neh 1-5

Sep 27: Neh 6-7

Sep 28: Neh 8-10

Sep 29: Neh 11-13; Ps 126

Sep 30: Malachi 1-4

Oct 1: Luke 1; John 1:1-14

Oct 2: Matt 1; Luke 2:1-38

Oct 3: Matt 2; Luke 2:39-52

Oct 4: Matt 3; Mark 1; Luke 3

Oct 5: Matt 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51

Oct 6: John 2-4

Oct 7: Mark 2

Oct 8: John 5

Oct 9: Matt 12:1-21; Mark 3; Luke 6

Oct 10: Matt 5-7

Oct 11: Matt 8:1-13; Luke 7

Oct 12: Matt 11

Oct 13: Matt 12:22-50

Oct 14: Matt 13; Luke 8

Oct 15: Matt 8:14-34; Mark 4-5

Oct 16: Matt 9-10















































http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+5:11-6:23;1chron+13-16

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+1-2;ps+15;ps+22-24;ps+47;ps+68

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+89;ps+96;ps+100-101;ps+105;ps+132

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+7;1chron+17

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+25;ps+29;ps+33;ps+36;ps+39

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+8-9;1chron+18

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+50;ps+53;ps+60;ps+75

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http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+3-4;ps+12-13;ps+28;ps+55


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+26;ps+40;ps+58;ps+61-62;ps+64


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+5;ps+38;ps+41-42

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+22-23;ps+57

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+95;ps+97-99

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+24;1chron+21-22;ps+30



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+131;ps+138-139;ps+143-145

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1chron+26-29;ps+127


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+1-2;ps+37;ps+71;ps+94


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+3-4;2chron+1;ps+72


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=solomon+1-8









http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+5-6;2chron+2-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+7;2chron+4


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2chron+6-7;ps+136














http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=joel+1-3






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ezra+4-6;ps+137

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=haggai+1-2









http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=neh+11-13;ps+126

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=malachi+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+1;john+1:1-14

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+1;luke+2:1-38

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+2;luke+2:39-52

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+3;mark+1;luke+3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+4;luke+4-5;john+1:15-51



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=john+5

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+12:1-21;mark+3;luke+6


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+8:1-13;luke+7


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+12:22-50

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+13;luke+8

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+8:14-34;mark+4-5



57

Feb 15: Lev 8-10

Feb 16: Lev 11-13

Feb 17: Lev 14-15

Feb 18: Lev 16-18

Feb 19: Lev 19-21

Feb 20: Lev 22-23

Feb 21: Lev 24-25

Feb 22: Lev 26-27

Feb 23: Num 1-2

Feb 24: Num 3-4

Feb 25: Num 5-6

Feb 26: Num 7

Feb 27: Num 8-10

Feb 28/29: Num 11-13

Mar 1: Num 14-15; Ps 90

Mar 2: Num 16-17

Mar 3: Num 18-20

Mar 4: Num 21-22

Mar 5: Num 23-25

Mar 6: Num 26-27

Mar 7: Num 28-30

Mar 8: Num 31-32

Mar 9: Num 33-34

Mar 10: Num 35-36

Mar 11: Deut 1-2

Mar 12: Deut 3-4

Mar 13: Deut 5-7

Mar 14: Deut 8-10

Mar 15: Deut 11-13

Mar 16: Deut 14-16

Mar 17: Deut 17-20

Mar 18: Deut 21-23

Mar 19: Deut 24-27

Mar 20: Deut 28-29

Mar 21: Deut 30-31

Mar 22: Deut 32-34; Ps 91

Mar 23: Josh 1-4

Mar 24: Josh 5-8

Mar 25: Josh 9-11

Mar 26: Josh 12-15

Mar 27: Josh 16-18

Mar 28: Josh 19-21

Mar 29: Josh 22-24

Mar 30: Jud 1-2

Mar 31: Jud 3-5

Apr 1: Jud 6-7

Apr 2: Jud 8-9

Apr 3: Jud 10-12

Apr 4: Jud 13-15

Apr 5: Jud 16-18

Apr 6: Jud 19-21

Jun 17: Prov 25-26

Jun 18: Prov 27-29

Jun 19: Ecc 1-6

Jun 20: Ecc 7-12

Jun 21: 1King 10-11; 2Chron 9

Jun 22: Prov 30-31

Jun 23: 1King 12-14

Jun 24: 2Chron 10-12

Jun 25: 1King 15:1-24; 2Chron 13-16

Jun 26: 1King 15:25-16:34; 2Chron 17

Jun 27: 1King 17-19

Jun 28: 1King 20-21


Jun 30: 2Chron 19-23

Jul 1: Oba; Ps 82-83

Jul 2: 2King 1-4

Jul 3: 2King 5-8

Jul 4: 2King 9-11

Jul 5: 2King 12-13; 2Chron 24

Jul 6: 2King 14; 2Chron 25

Jul 7: Jonah

Jul 8: 2King 15; 2Chron 26

Jul 9: Is 1-4

Jul 10: Is 5-8

Jul 11: Amos 1-5

Jul 12: Amos 6-9

Jul 13: 2Chron 27; Is 9-12

Jul 14: Micah 1-7

Jul 15: 2Chron 28; 2King 16-17

Jul 16: Is 13-17

Jul 17: Is 18-22

Jul 18: Is 23-27

Jul 19: 2King 18:1-8; 2Chron 29-31; Ps 48

Jul 20: Hos 1-7

Jul 21: Hos 8-14

Jul 22: Is 28-30

Jul 23: Is 31-34

Jul 24: Is 35-36

Jul 25: Is 37-39; Ps 76

Jul 26: Is 40-43

Jul 27: Is 44-48

Jul 28: 2King 18:9-19:37; Ps 46/80/135

Jul 29: Is 49-53

Jul 30: Is 54-58

Jul 31: Is 59-63

Aug 1: Is 64-66

Aug 2: 2King 20-21

Aug 3: 2Chron 32-33

Aug 4: Nahum 1-3

Aug 5: 2King 22-23; 2Chron 34-35

Aug 6: Zephaniah

Oct 17: Matt 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17

Oct 18: John 6

Oct 19: Matt 15; Mark 7



Oct 22: Matt 18

Oct 23: John 7-8

Oct 24: John 9:1-10:21

Oct 25: Luke 10-11; John 10:22-42

Oct 26: Luke 12-13

Oct 27: Luke 14-15

Oct 28: Luke 16-17:10

Oct 29: John 11

Oct 30: Luke 17:11-18:14

Oct 31: Matt 19; Mark 10

Nov 1: Matt 20-21

Nov 2: Luke 18:15-19:48

Nov 3: Mark 11; John 12

Nov 4: Matt 22; Mark 12

Nov 5: Matt 23; Luke 20-21

Nov 6: Mark 13

Nov 7: Matt 24

Nov 8: Matt 25


Nov 10: Luke 22; John 13

Nov 11: John 14-17


Nov 13: Luke 23; John 18-19


Nov 15: Luke 24; John 20-21

Nov 16: Acts 1-3

Nov 17: Acts 4-6

Nov 18: Acts 7-8

Nov 19: Acts 9-10

Nov 20: Acts 11-12

Nov 21: Acts 13-14

Nov 22: James 1-5

Nov 23: Acts 15-16

Nov 24: Gal 1-3

Nov 25: Gal 4-6

Nov 26: Acts 17-18:18

Nov 27: 1/2Thess

Nov 28: Acts 18:19-19:41

Nov 29: 1Cor 1-4

Nov 30: 1Cor 5-8

Dec 1: 1Cor 9-11

Dec 2: 1Cor 12-14

Dec 3: 1Cor 15-16

Dec 4: 2Cor 1-4

Dec 5: 2Cor 5-9

Dec 6: 2Cor 10-13












http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=num+7



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=num+14-15;ps+90





















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=deut+32-34;ps+91




















http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+10-11;2chron+9




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+15:1-24;2chron+13-16

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1king+15:25-16:34;2chron+17





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=oba+1;ps+82-83






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=jonah+1-4






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2chron+27;is+9-12

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=micah+1-7

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2chron+28;2king+16-17




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2king+18:1-8;2chron+29-31;ps+48






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=is+37-39;ps+76



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2king+18:9-19:37;ps+46;ps+80;ps+135







http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=nahum+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2king+22-23;2chron+34-35

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=zephaniah+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+14;mark+6;luke+9:1-17


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+15;mark+7





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=john+9:1-10:21

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+10-11;john+10:22-42



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+16-17:10


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+17:11-18:14



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+18:15-19:48

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=mark+11;john+12


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=matt+23;luke+20-21





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+22;john+13



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+23;john+18-19


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=luke+24;john+20-21







http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=james+1-5




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=acts+17-18:18

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1thess+1-5;2thess+1-3

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=acts+18:19-19:41










58

Apr 7: Ruth

Apr 8: 1Sam 1-3

Apr 9: 1Sam 4-8

Apr 10: 1Sam 9-12

Apr 11: 1Sam 13-14

Apr 12: 1Sam 15-17

Apr 13: 1Sam 18-20; Ps 11/59

Apr 14: 1Sam 21-24

Apr 15: Ps 7/27/31/34/52

Apr 16: Ps 56/120/140-142

Apr 17: 1Sam 25-27

Apr 18: Ps 17/35/54/63

Apr 19: 1Sam 28-31; Ps18

Apr 20: Ps 121/123-125/128-130

Apr 21: 2Sam 1-4

Apr 22: Ps 6/8-10/14/16/19/21

Apr 23: 1Chron 1-2

Apr 24: Ps 43-45/49/84-85/87

Apr 25: 1Chron 3-5

Apr 26: Ps 73/77-78

Apr 27: 1Chron 6

Apr 28: Ps 81/88/92-93

Apr 29: 1Chron 7-10

Apr 30: Ps 102-104

May 1: 2Sam 5:1-10; 1Chron 11-12

May 2: Ps 133

Aug 7: Jer 1-3

Aug 8: Jer 4-6

Aug 9: Jer 7-9

Aug 10: Jer 10-13

Aug 11: Jer 14-17

Aug 12: Jer 18-22

Aug 13: Jer 23-25

Aug 14: Jer 26-29

Aug 15: Jer 30-31

Aug 16: Jer 32-34

Aug 17: Jer 35-37

Aug 18: Jer 38-40; Ps 74/79

Aug 19: 2King 24-25; 2Chron 36

Aug 20: Habakkuk

Aug 21: Jer 41-45

Aug 22: Jer 46-48

Aug 23: Jer 49-50

Aug 24: Jer 51-52

Aug 25: Lam 1:1-3:36

Aug 26: Lam 3:37-5:22

Aug 27: Ezek 1-4

Aug 28: Ezek 5-8

Aug 29: Ezek 9-12

Aug 30: Ezek 13-15

Aug 31: Ezek 16-17

Sep 1: Ezek 18-19

Dec 7: Acts 20:1-3; Rom 1-3

Dec 8: Rom 4-7

Dec 9: Rom 8-10

Dec 10: Rom 11-13

Dec 11: Rom 14-16

Dec 12: Acts 20:4-23:35

Dec 13: Acts 24-26

Dec 14: Acts 27-28

Dec 15: Colossians; Philemon

Dec 16: Ephesians

Dec 17: Philippians 1-4

Dec 18: 1 Timothy

Dec 19: Titus

Dec 20: 1 Peter

Dec 21: Heb 1-6

Dec 22: Heb 7-10

Dec 23: Heb 11-13

Dec 24: 2 Timothy

Dec 25: 2 Peter; Jude

Dec 26: 1 John

Dec 27: 2/3 John

Dec 28: Rev 1-5

Dec 29: Rev 6-11

Dec 30: Rev 12-18

Dec 31: Rev 19-22

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ruth+1-4






http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1sam+18-20;ps+11;ps+59


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+7;ps+27;ps+31;ps+34;ps+52




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1sam+28-31;ps+18

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+121;ps+123-125;ps+128-130


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+6;ps+8-10;ps+14;ps+16;ps+19;ps+21


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+43-45;ps+49;ps+84-85;ps+87



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1chron+6




http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2sam+5:1-10;1chron+11-12

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ps+133












http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=jer+38-40;ps+74;ps+79


http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=habakkuk+1-3













http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=acts+20:1-3;rom+1-3





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=acts+20:4-23:35



http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=colossians+1-4;philemon+1

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=ephesians+1-6

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=philippians+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1tim+1-6

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=titus+1-3





http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2tim+1-4

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2peter+1-3;jude+1

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=1john+1-5

http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=nkjv&q=2john+1;3john+1






59

Appendix C: Photo Index

Unless otherwise indicated, photos are taken and copyrighted by the

author, Michael Beck

Page 16: photo of Jerusalem, Adamo,

Bette. jerusalemmt.ofolives094.jpg. February, 2003. Pics4Learning. 10

Feb 2014

Page 18: photo of cave at Qumran, Dead Sea, Lilly, Ruth. israe015.jpg.

12/1/1993. Pics4Learning. 10 Feb 2014

Page 33: graphic of path to heaven, copyrighted by the World Video

Bible School and reproduced with permission of its executive director

Don Blackwell.

the narrow gate

Documents

purpose of life

life michael beck

narrow gate

important purpose

deeper purpose

appendix c

michael beck myrtle

appendix b