#wtsdevo righteousness

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Perks of Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” - Psalms 34:19

Don’t let size fool you. This little verse packs a mean punch. It is jam-packed with power and promise. The Father is very clear and upfront about the terms that come with being His child. Unlike a shady car salesman who sells you all the bells and whistles but neglects to mention the issues.

We shouldn't scratch our heads at the pains and losses we encounter (1 Peter 4:12). Trials will come and they will come frequently but they are so much more than consequences or even random actions. And when they come we don't have to claw and fight our way through them alone. This shift of perspective is the real prize. Not one that sparkles or comes with commas in it's value.

Each affliction has been predetermined by God and comes with a lifeline—Himself. He provides for us the company and the escape door we could never find on our own (1 Corinthians 10:13). He brings hope when there was none.

This sounds pretty amazing doesn't it? There must be a catch. Yet all it takes on our part is to receive what He so freely and lovingly offered. The only stipulation that comes with God's promises are that you are His—that you know Him and He knows you (Psalm 100:3, 1 Corinthians 8:3).

Thankfully, the price for this membership has already been paid for (1 Corinthians 6:20). But we can't just assume to expect any of these benefits. They come with the prayers and disciplines of putting on the righteousness of God daily. His ear becomes more attentive and sensitive to our cry, and His response time becomes faster (Psalm 34:15,17)

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Devotional Series: Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

By: Julian // Personal // Walk the Same

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Set Apart (#wtsdevo righteousness)

In the English language, righteous means “good or holy”. This really means to be set apart. We are called as followers of Christ to be DIFFERENT. Why, then, can I still be at a school or live in a city and can only tell very few are truly living this command out? This is because of a half-hearted, lukewarm Christianity we have adopted as our culture has slowly drawn us into their worldliness. If we want to be righteous or set apart, shouldn’t we start acting like it?

Is it easy? No. But we aren’t called to an easy life as Christians. It’s hard, we have to make a lot of sacrifices, and let go of a lot of things we like (or think we like) in order to fulfil God’s plan in making us more like Him. But the great thing about all this stuff that sounds so morbid and terrible is that JESUS IS WORTH EVERYTHING WE HAVE. He died on a cross for the people that hung Him to it. That should be reason enough to drop everything we have that doesn’t bring Him glory and our love. The name of this game of life is giving up what we think we love right now in order to receive a free gift that is worth more than anything we can ever imagine, but in order to do this we have to be 100% sold out for the His name: JESUS.

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Devotional Series: Rightousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

Posted by: Conner Folger \ Personal // Walk the Same

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There is more to Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

Last Friday, we read about how we are made into the righteousness of God through our faith in Christ. Only by His gift, we are made righteous in God’s sight because “for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). But there is another aspect of righteousness in our lives that we need to consider.

Ephesians 6:13-14 – “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…”

In Ephesians 6, Paul is teaching the Ephesian Christians how to stand up against the attacks of the devil and to be strong in the Lord by putting on the full armor of God. In verse 14, we see that one of those pieces of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. What does it mean that we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness?

Putting on the breastplate of righteousness means that we have to take an active, thoughtful part in living righteously and deciding to live in a way that honors God. We must know His Word and apply it to our lives in order to put on the breastplate of righteousness in our daily walk. God sees us as righteous because of the gift of Jesus, so we should live out that reality by each day waking up and deciding to wear the breastplate of righteousness. Let’s live obediently to the Word of God today and walk in the righteousness that has been given to us.

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Devotional Series: Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

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The Hard Road (#wtsdevo righteousness)

“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’” - 1 Peter 3:14

A lot of times we as Christians forget the hard, painful side of our faith. Never once in scripture does it say that following Jesus would be easy. In fact it says the exact opposite.

“Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you” - 1 John 3:13

We come into this race knowing we will be scorned and hated for the sake of our Savior, but this is actually our best way to witness. When we are hated for our faith in the Lord, we have an immediate opportunity to show that person the love of Christ by not responding out of anger or spite, but with kindness and listening ears.

“Faith is what unites us with Christ and all that God is for us in him. When God sees faith in Christ, he sees union with Christ. And when he sees union with Christ, he sees the righteousness of Christ as our righteousness. So faith connects us with Christ who is our righteousness and, in that sense, faith is counted as righteousness. Faith sees and savors all that God is for us in Christ, especially his righteousness. That's what faith does.” - John Piper

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Devotional Series: Rightousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

Posted by: Conner Folger \ Personal // Walk the Same

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The Reach of Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

And the Lord said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." -Genesis 18:26

What a perfect picture of God's justice and His pardon working simultaneously. Sodom and Gomorrah was full of evil and the wrath of God was imminent. But His love for His creation makes Him slow to anger and acting on it. To the extent that He was willing to spare the most perverse population to date if fifty righteous people were found there.

Abraham continued to plead on their behalf and God went on to agree to spare that wicked city for just ten righteous souls (v32). It's staggering enough that God would annihilate an entire city. But what really blows me away is the leverage those ten would have had—that their posture in the Lord could've covered the wickedness of the whole city.

“For you bless the righteous, O Lord ; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” -Psalm 5:1

Not to be confused with a hollow, pious set of practices. The self-righteous Pharisees were pros at that. They said and did the right things but their heart was secretly empty of God's presence. Righteousness only comes through Him and Him alone. It's conceived right in the depths of the heart—where a man is measured. And the heart is exactly where the Pharisees missed God.

Scripture often refers to the righteous as upright and is closely paired with integrity (Psalms 7:10, 11:7, 97:11, Proverbs 11:6). We've all probably heard integrity defined as what you do when no one is watching. Righteousness lives in the realm of the unseen. It's beyond the naked eye where we can get false praise. God sees what man cannot (1 Samuel 16:7).

In all of Sodom there weren't even ten righteous found. So down came the fire and brimstone upon all but Lot and his family (his wife not included). The Lord was willing that none should perish but the upright were nowhere to be found. The world we live in is headed toward the same fate. And the question is still “Where are the righteous?”

Where are those men and women who are so radiant in Christ that it lights up a neighborhood, a town, a city? Evil doesn't have to stretch very far at all to find company. There's plenty of darkness around. But just maybe, if enough of us are clothed in righteousness and pleading on behalf of our lost brothers—being burdened by their fate, we can be a shield of protection against God's wrath.

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Devotional Series: Righteousness (#wtsdevo righteousness)

By: Julian // Personal // Walk the Same