Category: Faith

God’s Righteousness

~~ a devotional ~~

by tkbrown

“‘“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.'”

Matthew 5:6 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

In His “Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presented a series of “Blessed are . . . ” statements which modern-day theologians reference as “The Beatitudes.” The problem with grouping them together is it tends to discourage the study of each statement individually. If we look at them as separate indicators of desirable characteristics in those who follow Christ, they take on much more meaning.

With the indicator noted above in Matthew 5:6, Christ emphasized the importance of “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” as personal descriptors of a devoted Christian. He also noted: those seeking righteousness to this extent will be filled. In other words, if a follower truly hungers and thirsts for righteousness, time and energy will be spent trying to emulate the example Christ gave us when He was on earth, since everything He did was done in a manner well-pleasing unto God. We see this in Matthew 3, verses 16 and 17:

16 — “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, low, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.”

17 — “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'”

Matthew 3:16-17 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

Thus, one must first “hunger and thirst after righteousness” in order to be filled. This hungering and thirsting will increase our “searching of the scriptures” which will allow God to “fill our desire for righteousness.” The more we learn from the scriptures, the more we understand of what God wants from those of us who follow Jesus’ commandments.

As newborn Christians, we are to “desire the sincere milk of the word, that we may grow” in likeness to Christ. This growth is how we are filled with God’s righteousness.

1 — “Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,”

2 — “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

1 Peter 2:1-2 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

Peter goes on to say that those who believe and follow Jesus are “the chosen ones;” thus, they shall be filled with righteousness if it is searched and applied. He goes to great lengths in this chapter to describe the differences between those who believe and those who do not believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:”

1 Peter 2:9 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

In searching the scriptures, if we hunger and thirst after God’s righteousness, we will learn how emulating Christ’s actions and attitudes, while He was on earth, will satiate us and increase those behaviors in us. Thus, we “shall be filled,” and we shall become more like Christ as we continue to grow and live for Him.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of God’s righteousness.

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Photo Above: by permission from Benjamin South @facebook.com.

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Sources:

Eds. Bible Gateway. (1993). Matthew 5:6. “Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV).” biblegateway.com. (15 February 2022). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205%3A6&version=KJV.

Eds. King James Bible Online. (November 2007). Matthew 3:16-17. “Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV).” U.S. Congress. (15 February 2022). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-Chapter-3/.

Eds. King James Bible Online. (November 2007). 1 Peter 2:1-2; 2:9. “Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV).” U.S. Congress. (15 February 2022). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Peter-Chapter-2/.

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Havoc and Destruction

~~ a devotional ~~

by tkbrown

29 — “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”

30 — “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

Luke 17:29-30 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

Christian Living is not just a part-time endeavor. We cannot look back with longing to our way of life before becoming a child of God. We cannot give a half-hearted effort to living according to Jesus’ commandments. We are expected to give our all. No, He does not expect perfection, but He does expect us to look toward eternity with Him while having no regrets for leaving our past sinful selves behind.

“Remember Lot’s wife.”

Luke 17:32 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

When God’s angel saved Lot and his family from the wrath God wrought upon Sodom and Gomorrah for the sinful ways of those who abode there, they were warned to leave and never look back. However, as they were making their way to safety, when the sounds of havoc and destruction brought down upon the two cities fell upon Lot’s wife’s hearing, she turned and looked back. Immediately, she was turned to a pillar of salt to serve as a reminder to God’s people as to what happens when we disobey God.

15 — “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, ‘Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

16 — “And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth and set him without the city.”

17 — “And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad that he said, ‘Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, . . . “

Genesis 19:15-17 — Holy Bible: Old Testament, King James Version (KJV)

God had already made many concessions to Lot’s efforts to save Sodom and/or Gomorrah from the total destruction of God’s wrath. In doing so, He proved to Lot there were no others in the two cities who cared about or wanted to enlist God’s love for them. The entirety of the two communities served Satan in their sinful ways. God’s patience had worn thin. As Lot and his family were ushered from the two cities by angels sent from God, they were told to head for the mountains, not to settle in the plains. Lot once again begged God to allow them to settle in the small plains community of Zoar rather than go up into the mountains. Once again, God conceded.

23 — “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.”

24 — “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;”

25 — “And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

26 — “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Genesis 19:23-26 — Holy Bible: Old Testament, King James Version (KJV)

In the book of Luke, Chapter 17, verses 29-32, Jesus discusses the escort of Lot and his family from the destruction that was about to be rained down upon the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sinful and unremorseful ways. He likens this to the day He returns to take His people up to heaven. The destruction of the unrepentant, unbelieving, Satan serving multitudes will be swift, unannounced, and complete.

Are you ready for that day?

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32 — “Remember Lot’s wife.”

Luke 17:32 — Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV)

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Sources:

Eds. King James Bible Online. (November 2007). Genesis 19:15-17. “Holy Bible: Old Testament, King James Version (KJV).” U.S. Congress. (6 February 2022). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Genesis-Chapter-19/.

Eds. King James Bible Online. (November 2007). Luke 17:29-32. “Holy Bible: New Testament, King James Version (KJV).” U.S. Congress. (6 February 2022). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Luke-Chapter-17/.

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My Morning Do . . . “Faith”

old antique bible as an open book with sunlight bursting from the pages
~~ by tkbrown

Hebrews 2:9 — “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”

In Hebrews 2:9, the scripture says when God created the Son of Man, He was created a little lower than the angels. In other words, when Jesus came to earth, He was demoted. Prior to that time, He had been in heaven with God, since the beginning, as His equal.

John1:1-3

  • 1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
  • 2 — “He was in the beginning with God.”
  • 3 — “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

In order to taste death for everyone, He had to be “made a little lower than the angels.” He could not suffer death in our place as He was. So, in order to offer us eternal life in heaven with Him, Jesus became “a little lower than the angels.” God made His Son to also be the Son of Man so He could live on earth as a man and know all the weaknesses and frailties of man in a way God the Father does not. Thus, the Man Christ Jesus became Mediator between God and man.

1 Timothy 2:5-7

  • 5 — “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,“
  • 6 — “who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”
  • 7 — “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle–I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying–a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

All these things happened that we might have eternal life through faith. Without faith that Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and the Son of Man as well as our Mediator, we will never inherit that home in heaven. Through faith we become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Christ when we obey Christ’s commandments.

Hebrews 11:1 — “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

I believe Jesus Christ is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Joseph treated Jesus as his own child, because the world was to know him as such. Only those who inherit, jointly with Christ, that eternal home in heaven have the faith necessary to see it without seeing it.