The Pursuit of Righteousness
Good Morning Girls! Yesterday we briefly covered the things of this world that often distract us from pursuing the things of God. Today we are going to start looking at the things we are to pursue, according to the Word of God. It says in 1 Timothy 6:11but you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things (running from would be the opposite of pursuing). Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
Today we are going to talk about the pursuit of righteousness. Righteousness sounds like a big religious word (and it has turned into that for some as you will see), but it simple means: right standing with God. How do you know if you have right standing with God? It says in Romans 10:10 : For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God. It is as simple as that. It is by faith. It is by believing in your heart. Period. It is not by believing in your heart and doing everything right that you have right standing with God. In fact there really is no such thing as pursuing righteousness because the definition of pursue is: to follow in an effort to overtake or capture; to chase. You do not have to follow in an effort to receive right standing with God! You simply need to have faith. You simply need to believe it in your heart.
There are however, many of us who find ourselves pursuing righteousness. It began thousands of years ago under the law, and unfortunately still occurs today. It says in Romans 9:31-32 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get it right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of trusting in Him. They tried so hard to get it right with God. Tell me, have you ever felt that way? I know I have! I know that when my life really started throwing me some curve balls that I was unable to recover from I had times when I thought to myself "how could this be.....I did everything I was supposed to do! I did everything right. why then is God not fixing this?" You see Girls thoughts like these show that we have moved from faith over to works. It is not by me trying so hard to get it right that God is going to redeem me. It is by grace that He has already redeemed me! He has already worked out the end of my situation. He has already seen to it that me and my family are, and will always be, blessed and cared for- whether I deserve it or not- Praise God!
So Girls, if you find yourself trying to do everything right so God will love you, and you may be blessed, please just stop a moment. Stop running around volunteering everywhere, to do everything, and taking on more than you can handle- all in the pursuit of righteousness. I guarantee you will not find it that way. Instead, take 5 minutes to sit down and thank the Lord for what He has already done for you. Whether you cook another meal for a new mom or not- Jesus loves you and has already taken care of all of your needs......if you will just let him!
Romans 10:4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
Love you all-
Jen
Today we are going to talk about the pursuit of righteousness. Righteousness sounds like a big religious word (and it has turned into that for some as you will see), but it simple means: right standing with God. How do you know if you have right standing with God? It says in Romans 10:10 : For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God. It is as simple as that. It is by faith. It is by believing in your heart. Period. It is not by believing in your heart and doing everything right that you have right standing with God. In fact there really is no such thing as pursuing righteousness because the definition of pursue is: to follow in an effort to overtake or capture; to chase. You do not have to follow in an effort to receive right standing with God! You simply need to have faith. You simply need to believe it in your heart.
There are however, many of us who find ourselves pursuing righteousness. It began thousands of years ago under the law, and unfortunately still occurs today. It says in Romans 9:31-32 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get it right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of trusting in Him. They tried so hard to get it right with God. Tell me, have you ever felt that way? I know I have! I know that when my life really started throwing me some curve balls that I was unable to recover from I had times when I thought to myself "how could this be.....I did everything I was supposed to do! I did everything right. why then is God not fixing this?" You see Girls thoughts like these show that we have moved from faith over to works. It is not by me trying so hard to get it right that God is going to redeem me. It is by grace that He has already redeemed me! He has already worked out the end of my situation. He has already seen to it that me and my family are, and will always be, blessed and cared for- whether I deserve it or not- Praise God!
So Girls, if you find yourself trying to do everything right so God will love you, and you may be blessed, please just stop a moment. Stop running around volunteering everywhere, to do everything, and taking on more than you can handle- all in the pursuit of righteousness. I guarantee you will not find it that way. Instead, take 5 minutes to sit down and thank the Lord for what He has already done for you. Whether you cook another meal for a new mom or not- Jesus loves you and has already taken care of all of your needs......if you will just let him!
Romans 10:4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
Love you all-
Jen
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