Romans
3:21-25a “But now the
righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the
Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by
his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received
by faith.”
Continuing from the last post, Pastor
Obie gave us five ways to consider improve and become a better person, with
Jesus Christ as my example, aligned with the holy Word, Will and Way of God).
Continuing with (3) Show compassion. In reality, we are all caught “red-handed”
(to be caught in the act of committing a misdemeanor, with the evidence there
for all to see) in sin by the Lord. In Luke 11:4, Jesus taught us, “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves
forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
The Lord’s forgiveness of the debt of sin should produce the desire to do the
same. This is the message that Jesus was communicating in the Parable of the
Unmerciful Servant of Matthew 18:21-35 - “This
is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your
brother or sister from your heart.” Show compassion and stick together
through thick and thin to bear one another’s burdens, despite the
circumstances.
(4)
Demonstrate the virtue of honoring and sacrificial leadership. Show true
concern to others. Keep your promises, even if it means losing something
valuable to you. Selflessness is being willing to “fall on the sword’, substituting
yourself in a godly manner to allow them to escape harm, grow and prosper. It
was King David in 1 Chronicles 21:17b
that said to God: “Lord my God, let
your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on
your people.” It is never too late to repentance and transformational
change towards godliness in honor and sacrifice.
(5) Set up a lineage for generational
blessings. Jesus performed the ultimate substitutionary sacrifice by taking the
sins of the world and paying for them in our place, so that those who choose to
believe and receive may be saved from eternal damnation (the second death) in Hell,
separated from God to abundant eternal life with the Lord in Heaven. Without
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, what is the point of life? In Luke 12, Jesus suggests that the self-centered
world’s view of life is Take life easy;
eat, drink and be merry.” This side of eternity is temporal and fleeting
away, so meaningless without a future. Tell others about the good news of Jesus
Christ and His salvation. Live out a godly life that leads others to the foot
of the cross, like a light on a hilltop of a pitch black culture. Character
flaws can be turned around. How we act and change from our ungodly ways affects
our lineage. Desire and seek a lasting lineage that we can leave for our children
and their children to follow, teaching outstanding character in Christ.
Take
a stand against generational curses and walk in the Spirit. Ask God to break
those chains that binds us and keeps us captive, robbing our joy.
Transformation is the key.
In
Christ, Brian
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