God Our Righteousness
Prayer
Heavenly Father, yes, heavenly Father thank you so much for taking me, a wretched man, and covering me with your righteousness. I couldn’t live up to your standards on my own. No. I fall short. But you saw me, filth and all, and you covered my past, my present, and my future. Praise God there is no longer a guilty sentence hovering over my head because I have been washed in the blood of the lamb. Praise God this washing and forgiveness of sins is available for all those who accept Jesus! Amen.
Focus
God our righteousness.
Devotional
Before church, lately, I’ve been going to this coffee shop to write, do school stuff, and let the Lord work through me. I started going to this coffee shop a couple months ago because one Sunday morning the Holy Spirit moved inside of me while I was there in a way to let me know that there was some work to be done. I think he put it in my heart and mind to simply witness to the staff at the shop. I wasn’t sure about this, but I’ve been obedient to what I believe he was calling me to do.
This morning was different. I showed up early to the coffee shop a little bit before they opened, pulled out my journal, and began crying out to God. I poured out my wounds, my filth, and my infections to him. Honestly, I felt so gross in my spirit that I felt rotten and ashamed of who I am—but I know that God wants us to be truthful and transparent with him. When we reveal every part of us, shame and all, and put it all on the table, God can then pick up what we’ve put down and craft it into something good.
During service today, when Paul mentioned that God is our righteousness, my mind eventually went to my morning and it got me thinking, receiving, and praising God! Here’s what I came to.
I, seriously, felt like throwing up my heart, mind, and spirit this morning. I wanted to run from myself, and never look back. I felt this way not just because I, continuously, slip into sin and hate it, but because I know it hurts God when I sin as well. That’s the worst part for me. I know it breaks God’s heart when I sin.
I fall short. Yes, I, at times (more often than I’d like to admit) eat the forbidden fruit. But it wasn’t my, or our, ability to live righteously that Jesus died for us. In fact, quite the opposite. Jesus died for us because we couldn’t live up to the law. It’s never been about my ability to live righteously, but Jesus' ability to finish everything! It’s always been about what God did, not what we did!
I admit it. I’m going to fall, slip up, and fail. In some way or another, from one degree to another, I’m going to dirty myself again. Accepting this does not mean that I should just give in to sin. By no means! When you realize that Jesus died to save you from your guilty sentence, the last thing you want to do is hammer more nails into his limbs.
With Jesus' life, death, and resurrection a door was opened to eternal life. Because we are not on the other side of eternity, yet, this means that we are currently on a journey. We are walking in step with destiny when we follow Jesus. It’s his righteousness that covers us.
This is why God was able to move in me while I was at the coffee shop. Even though God knew I was going to miss the mark, he still chose to partner with me to work with him to witness to those at the shop. It’s never been about my ability to do it perfectly, but to allow God’s perfection to filter through my human-ness and be a light to those around me. Praise God!
This morning was different. I showed up early to the coffee shop a little bit before they opened, pulled out my journal, and began crying out to God. I poured out my wounds, my filth, and my infections to him. Honestly, I felt so gross in my spirit that I felt rotten and ashamed of who I am—but I know that God wants us to be truthful and transparent with him. When we reveal every part of us, shame and all, and put it all on the table, God can then pick up what we’ve put down and craft it into something good.
During service today, when Paul mentioned that God is our righteousness, my mind eventually went to my morning and it got me thinking, receiving, and praising God! Here’s what I came to.
I, seriously, felt like throwing up my heart, mind, and spirit this morning. I wanted to run from myself, and never look back. I felt this way not just because I, continuously, slip into sin and hate it, but because I know it hurts God when I sin as well. That’s the worst part for me. I know it breaks God’s heart when I sin.
I fall short. Yes, I, at times (more often than I’d like to admit) eat the forbidden fruit. But it wasn’t my, or our, ability to live righteously that Jesus died for us. In fact, quite the opposite. Jesus died for us because we couldn’t live up to the law. It’s never been about my ability to live righteously, but Jesus' ability to finish everything! It’s always been about what God did, not what we did!
I admit it. I’m going to fall, slip up, and fail. In some way or another, from one degree to another, I’m going to dirty myself again. Accepting this does not mean that I should just give in to sin. By no means! When you realize that Jesus died to save you from your guilty sentence, the last thing you want to do is hammer more nails into his limbs.
With Jesus' life, death, and resurrection a door was opened to eternal life. Because we are not on the other side of eternity, yet, this means that we are currently on a journey. We are walking in step with destiny when we follow Jesus. It’s his righteousness that covers us.
This is why God was able to move in me while I was at the coffee shop. Even though God knew I was going to miss the mark, he still chose to partner with me to work with him to witness to those at the shop. It’s never been about my ability to do it perfectly, but to allow God’s perfection to filter through my human-ness and be a light to those around me. Praise God!
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