Tag Archives: righteousness

Mid Afternoon Meditation 4-5-16

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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Praise the Lord.[b]

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
    who find great delight in his commands.

2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
    their righteousness endures forever;
    their horn[c] will be lifted high in honor.

Psalm 112:1-9

What are the qualities of the righteous?

Close Of Day Meditation 2-9-16

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In this morning’s DIRECTION FROM MORNING SCRIPTURE, I asked the question,

What are the differences between being a slave to sin and being a slave to righteousness? I have been meditating on that question all day. As I close out the day I wanted to share with you some of the differences I have come up with.

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  1. A life enslaved to sin is bound by evil motives. A life enslaved to righteousness is bound to the law of love.
  2. A life enslaved to sin is constantly fighting the battle against shame. The life enslaved to righteousness is grounded in confidence and peace.
  3. A life enslaved to sin is constantly trying to outrun guilt and judgment. The life enslaved to righteousness rests in innocence.
  4. A life enslaved to sin must indulge the flesh with instant gratification because the present is all it can hope for. The life enslaved to righteousness does not need to indulge the flesh instantly because it has all the time in the universe, being promised eternal life.
  5.  A life enslaved to sin knows only silence from God. The life enslaved to righteousness hears God’s voice in ever increasing measure.
  6. A life enslaved to sin must work for its own provision because it has cut off God’s supply line. The life enslaved to righteousness has an open supply line to Jehovah Jireh and shall know the Lord’s provision continually.
  7. A life enslaved to sin will eventually see sin eat up all the riches it amasses. The life enslaved to righteousness shall know superabundance without end.

WHAT BENEFIT IS THERE IN THE LIFE OF SIN?

The Road Through Romans: The Way To the Approved State

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

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So we are delving into Romans 1:16,17 yet again. If you missed our previous devotional thoughts they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today I really want to begin looking at the bold faced words in these two verses.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

These words are the launching pad for what is perhaps the major theme for Paul’s letter to the Romans. I guess you could say the theme can be summed up thusly, The way to eternal salvation  AND  a lifestyle of actual holiness is by faith… OR…the way to the God-approved state is through faith.

Paul  develop this theme greatly throughout the book. Honestly, it was pretty radical thinking for his readers back when it was written. Even for us this thought is pretty radical.

When most people think of Heaven they usually think of it as a place of reward for good people, something to be worked towards. When asked why a person should go to Heaven most reply that a person gets to Heaven by doing good or by having his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds. But Paul’s message throughout Romans is that salvation (Heaven) is not obtained by what we do but by who we put our faith in. In fact here in verse 17 Paul even mentions that the ability to be righteous or do good works is based on who we put our trust in. The intimation is that if we do not put our faith in the right person not only will we not attain Heaven we will not even be able to do the things that are truly good.

This is a pretty serious  allegation for a world that by and large does not put its faith in Jesus.

I would love to hear your thoughts about Paul’s words here.