MAY 4

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”

Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Romans 3:22

“even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;”

Ephesians 6:14

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Philippians 1:11

“being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Philippians 3:9

“and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”

We have a few days left in the book   “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.  Then we’ll be changing to another book.

TSADDIK

RIGHTEOUS

Psalm 145:17

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all He does.”

Psalm 145:17

Sometimes we feel ashamed or anxious, overwhelmed, lonely, or sad.  Often we feel such things when we shouldn’t, such as guilt over something that wasn’t our fault, or anxiety about an imaginary problem.

Of course, we have positive emotions too, and sometimes even these are misplaced.  We may feel happiness over something that is not truly good.  Or we may feel a sense of relief over a situation that is a long way from being resolved.

The point is that it’s dangerous to put too much stock in our feelings.  As real and powerful as our emotions are, they are not trustworthy guides for life.  There is often a profound difference between what SEEMS true and what IS true.  So just because you’re not FEELING especially righteous today, it doesn’t mean you’re not actually righteous.

To be righteous is to be free from sin – in short, to always be right.  This is God’s nature.  He is never wrong.  He always does what is right.  He is always perfect in His interaction with His creatures.  He’s always free from shady motives and suspect thoughts.  His track record is untainted by foolish decisions.  Conversely, we are guilty of all those unrighteous things – even when we don’t feel especially bad about them.

The righteousness of God, then, becomes one of humanity’s greatest problems.  How can a righteous God have anything to do with people who are unrighteous?  If we’re not right (righteous) in our essential nature, we surely can’t be right WITH GOD.

Facts always trump feelings; the reality is that the followers of Jesus Christ are the very righteousness of God.

When have your feelings hindered your view of spiritual reality?

PRAYER

Righteous Father, thank You for making me righteous in Christ.  When I stand before You, You will not see my sin but instead see the righteousness of Your Son.  Please help me to live according to what is true, not how I feel.  Amen

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