pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: righteousness


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Stand Firm

When life is going well we feel that God is with us, watching over us, guiding us, blessing us.  We feel the God of love’s presence and offer up thanksgiving for His role in our life.  When life seems a little bit sideways or the struggle comes to our little corner of the world, then often we wonder where God is.  The answer, of course, is that He is just as close in the trial as in the smooth sailing.  But for some reason our natural inclination is to assume God has abandoned us when life gets challenging.

Paul encourages us to put on the full armor of God.  By doing so we will be able to stand firm in times of trial.  The fully prepared Christian has truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and God word.  To put these on means to use and train with them each day as a Roman soldier would with his shield, sword, and armor.  If one does not train and practice daily, one is not fully prepared when the challenge arises.  We need daily practice of the disciplines of faith so we are strong and ready when the battle comes our way.  If we are diligent each day, we will be ready all the time.

When the waters get a little rough it is not because God has left the building.  It is because Satan has entered and stirred up the waters a bit.  In this moment we can flex our spiritual muscles and fall back on our training.  We can draw strength from God’s promises of salvation and peace.  We can gird ourselves up with truth and righteousness.  We can live strongly in our faith.  The full armor of God will allow us to withstand the devil and put him to flight.  Stand firm in the full armor of God today!

Scripture reference: Ephesians 6: 10-20


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Walking Closely

“I promise.”  When do we have to say these words?  It is not usually in everyday life – your boss doesn’t make you promise to finish the project…  We have to promise when we have been exceptionally forgetful or when the other person doubts we will follow through or thinks what we have said is unlikely or impossible.  As adults, in general we do not have to make promises.  Saying we will do something if usually sufficient.

God never has to promise.  His word is always good.  When we come to the point of trusting in God, we come to faith.  True, at times we can struggle, but this too passes.  We may momentarily wonder how God could ever forgive ‘that’ but in time we see God offers forgiveness to all who come with a truly repentant heart.  And we get ourselves to that point and find His grace and love again.

Sometimes we are called to believe something that seems impossible or highly unlikely.  Sometimes our faith calls us to step out into the unknown.  Abraham is a great example for us.  At almost 100 years of age, God told him he would not only have a child but would be the father to many nations.  Abraham chose to believe God with all his heart.  He did not waver.  For this act of full obedience, abraham was credited as being righteous.

Paul tells us that we too are credited with righteousness when we actively pursue and fully trust in God.  Our willingness puts us in a right relationship with God.  When we walk in righteousness, God is close to us.  When we pursue Him, He is easy to find.  May we walk closely with God today, removing all doubts and barriers, so that we can experience His full love, mercy, and joy!

Scripture reference: Romans 4: 18-25


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What Gets You Into Heaven?

Does being a member of a church or attending worship equate to salvation?  Does being saved require going to church ‘x’ times a month?  Paul writes that we are justified (or made right with God) only by our faith.  Yet in our human nature we often go to the question, “Am I good enough?”  Am I good enough to be loved by God?  Am I good enough to attend church?  Am I good enough to find happiness?  Am I good enough too….   Yes, yes, yes, and YES!!!

We are put into good standing in our relationship with God becuase of what we believe, not because of what we do.  When we come to trust in God with our lives, job, money, family, time… then we are living in a right relationship with God.  Do works or what we do matter?  Of course.  Later in the Bibe we read that faith without works is dead.  As we grow in our relationship with God, we come to see that His great love for us calls us to share that love with the hurting and broken world in which we live.  Why?  So that they too can come to know His saving love.

We cannot buy or earn righteousness or a right relationship with God.  We don’t get saved through membership or attendance, but by living and walking daily with God.  When our lives are guided by a trust and belief in God, then we come to live by faith.


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Living the Law

As people we easily fall into the trap of judging others. We do it for so many reasons, but often it is to say we are better than them or that at least we don’t do what they are doing. Relatively speaking we are a better person, spouse, Christian, … Far from perfect but at least not the worst.

The Bible is composed of the Old and New Testaments. In Matthew 5 Jesus reminds those he is speaking to that the Law of the OT is still in existence. Not only that, but that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Jesus goes on to teach about the consequences of keeping and breaking the laws. Keeping them means we will be ‘great’ in heaven but when we break one we will be ‘least’ in heaven. But catch the important part – even the breakers of the law will be able o be in heaven!!

At the end of this section (verses 17-20) Jesus drops one on the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. He tells his listeners that unless their (our) righteousness exceeds that of these religious leaders, then we will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven. I can hear the leaders saying, “now hold on a minute!” because they knew the law inside and out, forward and backward. But they only knew it, they didn’t live it out. They only knew the letter of the law and not the intent. Maybe this is why they clashed so often w/Jesus on the Sabbath.

Although I understand that Jesus was making a couple points here with this comparative statement, we must be careful not to judge. When we fall into that comparative game, there is always someone ‘better’ out there. On the other end of the scale, do we really want a faith that simply seeks to be above whoever is ‘least’?

We need to hear both sides of Jesus’ point. Don’t get caught up in the rules and requirements – live out our faith in a real and honest way. Don’t think that because we are on the membership roles of a church that we are ‘in’ heaven. It is a day to day, moment by moment way of life that Jesus is calling us. Just because we helped the first person we encountered does it mean we can walk by the second and third and … It is a 24/7 type of commitment to which we are being called. Is it hard? Yes – the road is narrow. But His burden is easy and the yoke is light. Come to know Jesus and we come to know and live out the law because of the great love that dwells within us!