BUT THE RIGHTEOUS…

The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS is gracious and gives.
When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS has an everlasting foundation.
He who trusts in his riches will fall,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS will flourish like the green leaf.
An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS will escape from trouble.
Adversity pursues sinners,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS will be rewarded with prosperity.
The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS has a refuge when he dies.
The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS are bold as a lion.
By transgression an evil man is ensnared,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS sings and rejoices.
When the wicked increase, transgression increases;
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS will see their fall.
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him;
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS will live by his faith.
These will go away into eternal punishment,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS into eternal life.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

And who is righteous?
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD (Romans 3:10-11)

So, where do we find righteousness?
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:17-19)

Our righteousness is found ONLY by GRACE through FAITH in the Righteous One – Jesus Christ.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9)

Grace, Mercy and Truth

Grace, Mercy and Truth made flesh for the world to see,

Restoration’s plan unfolded before our eyes that we might believe,

For redemption drew nigh, our salvation came from on high,

Through God’s love personified…

Lord

Lord, more of You and less of me….
For my flesh is unworthy
My strength is useless
Self is in control
Desires lead me astray
Wants overflow
A cloud of sin obstructs my vision
And the swarm of the enemy surrounds

Lord, only in You and not of me…
With all of my heart I desire to abide in You
With all of my soul I long for Your presence
With all of my strength I will worship You
Spirit lead me
Restore my vision
Save me in Your mighty fortress

And the Lord responded;
You are My child, rest in My presence
You are My beloved, holdfast to My lovingkindness
You are My chosen, stand firm in My grace
My love for you is everlasting
My grace is irresistible
My mercy redeems
And I will restore your joy

earthly minded

Are we so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good or are we so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good? Here we find the two opposite ends of the spectrum of this Christian walk.

We can become so focused on the things of this Earth (the temporal and flesh oriented) that we lose our eternal perspective and become of little value to the kingdom of heaven. If we only focus on the temporal we shall not live in the realm of the Spirit and that is where the power to minister comes from – not our flesh.

Just as we must walk in grace and truth so must our walk be heavenly and earthly minded. As heaven is our home, earth is the place of our sojourning until we reach our home. And we are called, in our sojourning on this earth, to reach out and touch the heart of man by dispensing the grace and truth of the kingdom of heaven – which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

my life unknown

what shall come of my life, my future
what does each new day bring forth, what might I expect
what of each new week, new month, and new year
striving, seeking, waiting, wanting
yearning to know and yet unable to foresee
living today worrisome and unsure about the outcome of tomorrow
yet life is as a blink of the eye, a vapor that is here and then quickly gone
the future will come, tomorrow will join us and today shall be a yesterday gone
so I have determined that life is today
striving to accomplish that which has yet to come - might my striving become perseverance
seeking to control all that shall be - might my seeking be trust enabled by faith
waiting with overly anxious anticipation - might my anxious waiting longsuffering develop
wanting for sake of want - might my wanting contentedness become
for my life must be lived in today
honoring, uplifting, restoring
blessing and not usurping
a desire and a will for lovingkindness, faithfulness, truthfulness, grace and mercy
to be poured out from the broken vessel that I am
may this be my life now known

back to the basics

TRUTH is where we are to live,

GRACE is what we must dispense,

LOVINGKINDNESS is who we are to be...

forsaking the law of the Lord

As we look at these verses in 2nd Chronicles we see a strong admonition for our times. Just as the nation of Israel under Rehoboam became established and strong, our country over the last 50+ years has taken the same course - we became 'established and strong' and we have moved to forsake the law of the Lord. Just as Israel became unfaithful to the Lord, we too have followed that path - as a nation and as the church. Israel was chastised through the king of Egypt - who will be our chastiser?
At least Rehoboam along with the other leaders, after listening to the prophet, finally acknowledged their unfaithfulness and humbled themselves. Who will be the prophet of our day that our leaders will listen to? Will we, as a stubborn, selfish, stiff-necked and rebellious people humble ourselves and acknowledge that the Lord is righteous?
Or are we beginning to see the signs that we shall be in bondage to an ungodly taskmaster due to our unfaithfulness and unwillingness to humble ourselves? As we proceed through this time where our government is becoming more powerful and gaining more control over our daily lives, where more and more people live in the world of 'entitlement' (which becomes enslavement) we may soon become slaves of the state and learn the difference between serving the Lord and serving a worldly kingdom which is an ungodly and oppressive taskmaster !



2 Chronicles 12
When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the LORD. And it came about in King Rehoboam's fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, ' You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.'" So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is righteous."
When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, " They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak.
"But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."