Wednesday, September 19, 2018

The Pursuit of Righteousness – Part 2




Michael continues that in the old game show, "To Tell the Truth," the question was, "Will the real you please stand up." When God sees us he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. Who is the real you?  The real you is the person who God created us in Christ Jesus when we were born again of God's spirit.  According to Colossians 1:26-27, the riches of the glory of the mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God has called us to be godly so that we don't need to be afraid of judgment today and come Judgment Day. We are sons and daughters of God by new birth in Christ. He has created in us a new life in the spirit of Christ in us. We have been saved by grace through faith. As Galatians says, the just shall live by faith. Faith produces knowledge of the cause and purpose of our lives. Faith produces fidelity ... to stand strong to the end.

As a man or woman of God, we do things because of whose we are. We were made the righteousness of God because of Jesus' payment for sin on our behalf. For he who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice for us that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. The real you is "Christ in you". It's His feet behind my feet, His hands behind my hands, His eyes behind my eyes, and His heart behind my heart. Faithfulness is not because of what we do, but because of who we are and whose we are. Devoted means that we have dedicated ourselves to His purposes and cause because of our righteousness in Him.

Each moment in time can be "our finest hour." Each moment is an opportunity to fulfill our "divine appointment" to walk in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our acceptance by our Heavenly Father is through His son, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.  

The sin nature will pursue the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. However, you are slaves to whom you obey. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to flee from these things and instead to pursue the righteousness of God in Christ in us. For there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. Therefore we can approach our father as sons of God. We can live for our Father's glory, for it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ, Michael

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