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Confess, you're the type of person who spends most of their time (if not all) focusing on what they want from God instead of what they need to give to Him. Right?


Does that statement hit you in the gut? Then you won't like it I tell you you spend hours thinking of all the things you can get from God and barely any time considering what He wants from you? Now you're upset. You want to defend yourself with excuses and explanations. You want to flat our protest and declare you're not that type of person.


Stop it! YOU ARE THE PERSON WHO THINKS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT AND NOT WHAT THEY'LL GIVE.


We all are, unfortunately and we inherited this selfish nature from Adam. When confronted with his failure in the Garden of Eden, Adam forgot how tasty the apple had been. He forgot he was told not to eat the forbidden fruit. He forgot how his helpmate had previously helped him. Instead, he blamed both Eve and God saying, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:21). In his selfishness, he protected himself and threw Eve under the bush. He pointed at God as if He'd messed up. To be fair, Eve shouldn't have been revealing secrets to the serpent in the first place, but that's a discussion for another time.


Each of us - in one way or another - focuses on our selfish self-ambition and self-motivated desires. We don't ask God what He wants for us (Hosea 4:6). We don't go searching in His word to understand what His expectations are. Instead, we flow with the ways of the world, we rely on our carnal nature and lean on our understanding contrary to His instructions (Galatians 5:19-21, Proverbs 3:5). In fact, we daydream of all we'll achieve, detailing the ways we'll do it. A few of us might remember to ask God to fulfill our desires, but only after we've determined what those are without including Him. And when we don't see all we've imagined, the way we dreamed it, we turn around and blame Him for not helping us!


God wants us to succeed (Jeremiah 29:11). He's promised to fulfil the desires of the upright (Proverbs 10:24). However, we've been warned that we don't see results because of our selfish motives (James 4:3). We put our desires, wants and needs before God's purpose and plan for us. This is why we all struggle to consistently honor Matthew 6:33. But praise the Lord that He has grace for us and will help us when we recognize our failures, renounce our sin, and strive to walk righteously with Him.


Today, take a moment and prayerfully repent for being stiff-necked and stubborn. For thinking you can design your life without His input from the very start instead of submitting to His will. Ask God what He wants you to do and commit to doing it. You can tell Him to take it easy with you and ask Him to help you obey Him. He'll hear you and help you. You just have to cooperate.

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Righteousness. We've been learning about this often-repeated Biblical concept and now know that God expects us to be upright and this involves shunning sin. We've taken a look at the benefits of righteousness and the resulting consequences of unrighteousness. We also learned that Jesus is our key to righteousness. After all, He died to redeem each of us and we need only accept His sacrifice to receive that great gift.


The Lord has made it clear that He will show favor to those who seek His righteousness not just through what they say but through how they live (Matthew 6:33). And as we strive to do this, we conclude our review with a subset of blessings that are tied to the mouths of righteous people. Proverbs 10:11 tells us that the mouths of the righteous will bring life to others. This might not mean much to many but it should. Do you remember what Jesus said in John 14:12? He promised supernatural power to His followers, saying they shall do greater works than what He did once He returned to the Father. Thus, I can't help but take this promise literally. The righteous can speak healing into others through the name of Jesus. If, however, we consider the verse less literally, then the promise remains impressive. Imagine being blessed with the capacity to utter words that encourage and uplift people in a godly and meaningful way?


Similarly, in Proverbs 10:31, wise words are promised to the righteous. Wisdom is a great gift from the Lord. Godly wisdom makes the difference in all situations, and the Lord will freely give it to the righteous. Wouldn't you want that? And in Proverbs 10:32, we are told, The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. These types know the right word to speak so as to improve situations. Their words, therefore, find favor not just with man, but with God - a clear result of the wisdom they've received. Queen Esther displayed this gift. After fasting and praying for three days before the Lord, she went to King Xerxes and he offered her up to half his kingdom, going on to do everything she suggested. That kind of grace can only come from the Lord and it is available to all His children.


If you think you are too far gone to get back on God's path of righteousness, please keep in mind He assured that all who turn away from their wicked ways will be forgiven of their past sins. In fact, He says in Ezekiel 33:12 - ...And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. There is nothing difficult for the Lord and He loves to forgive all who repent as stated in 1 John 1:9. He wants us all to walk that path of righteousness so that we walk right into heaven. For that reason God also warns the righteous not to stray from their upright life. If that happens, "none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done." (Ezekiel 33:13).


May the Lord help each of us to become more righteous, so we honor and please Him with our existence, IJMN, Amen. May His grace carry us to the expected end He promised in Jeremiah 29:11, IJN, Amen.




To learn more on righteousness, here's some of what we've learned so far:

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Glory to God for this blessed day. We have another opportunity to gather and learn. Today, we continue to explore the benefits of a righteous life for believers. For that purpose, we look at Proverbs 10, which is credited to King Solomon. Given that 1 Kings 4:29 tells us God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured (GNT), he seems like a good person to listen to on the topic. These utterances were inspired by the Lord Himself and reinforce why we need to live righteously before God. In this day and age where there is so much confusion and anxiety, there's no better way to seek solace and understanding than from the Bible.


Hunger is not the portion of the righteous. No matter what, the Lord will always ensure that His righteous ones are fed. Proverbs 10:3 - The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. Even when it seems that every kitchen cupboard is dry, the Lord will make miraculous provision. The Lord in His kindness even extends this privilege to the children of the righteous. Not only shall they not go hungry but they won't ever beg to eat. Hallelujah! Psalm 37:25 - I am old now; I have lived a long time, but I have never seen good people abandoned by the LORD or their children begging for food (GNT). And this verse also points out another gem, the righteous will never be abandoned by God. He will always rise to every occasion on their behalf.


One thing I've learned in this life is that money and fame cannot protect from death. How many times have we been stumped to hear of the most powerful and well-recognized people dying in shocking ways? However, the righteous are promised not only a long life, but also safety from death in Proverbs 10:2 - The treasure of the wicked won't profit them, but righteousness rescues people from death (CEB). They will die when their God-appointed time comes and nothing less. When you couple this with Proverbs 3:25-26 - Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared, the righteous can walk with great confidence of God's protection in all manner of situations.


Blessings are a reward for the righteous. The New Living Translation of Proverbs 10:6 states that blessings shall rain down as showers, while the New International Version says blessings shall be a crown on the head of the righteous. And according to the next verse, the very name of the righteous acts as a blessing. Proverbs 10:6 - The mentioning of the righteous is a blessing, But the name of the wicked will rot (NASB). Imagine living a righteous life whereby those who are associated with you are granted better treatment on that basis alone?


And if you are wondering what happens to those who ignore the call to righteousness just look at some of the scripture used above. They highlight not only the blessings stemming from righteousness, but the curses that unrighteousness brings. We should each want to do everything we can to glorify the Lord with our very lives. It all starts with small changes - watching the things we say to others, studying the Bible regularly, asking Jesus to guide us each day, and giving Him praise for everything. We just have to start and trust God to help us improve with time, after all, He told Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak" (GNT). It is in our weakest moment that the Lord will show up to help and strengthen us. IJMN, Amen. We just have to call on Him.


I pray you'll join us at 12 Noon today to fellowship. See you then!



To learn more on righteousness, here's some of what we've learned so far:

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