http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%2024-28&version=NIV
Job 27: 6: "I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live."
In order to live a righteous life, you have to be intentional. It is the first step in living a righteous life. Because of our sin nature, living a Christ centered life doesn’t come naturally. Job, however, has made up his mind to maintain his righteousness and his conscience is clear. He would not curse God as his wife suggested earlier. Remember that was Satan’s original goal was…that Job would curse God.
Are you intentional in your pursuit of righteousness? What needs to change in your life so that you can turn away from sin? There are many ways to guard yourself against temptation including setting boundaries and putting in place safeguards in your dating life, seeking out an accountability partner, setting up controls and filters on the computer or television and avoiding environments where you are likely to sin. Most importantly, you must make room in your daily prayer time to talk with God about these areas and pray for his guidance, wisdom and strength in these matters. Here are two other verses to consider are:
Romans 3:22-24: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
At salvation you received the righteousness of Christ and a resulting passion for righteous living. It’s there for you to tap into! Share your intentions with God in prayer and ask Him to reveal to you your path of righteousness! Have faith that He will lead you and that He will redeem you when you fall. Carve out that quiet time to feed your faith with God’s Word and prayer. Seek the Lord and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)! He will satisfy!
Today's blog submitted by Kelly Coxe
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Jesus said, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Paul writes that we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16)
In cultivating righteousness and holiness in our lives we need to pray to God to love what he loves and hate what he hates.
Proverbs 8:13 says "The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil."
Do you hate evil? Do you really hate it with all your being? Do you hate profanity, do you hate dirty jokes, do you hate sexual immorality, do you hate pornography, do you hate gossip, do you hate the love of money and material things, do you hate sin? Does this hatred cause a radical effect on what TV shows you watch, what internet sites you surf, what books and magazines you read?
Pray to the Lord to cultivate this hatred in you. A hatred of sin and all things that are offensive to God.
John Piper has said that the Christian life is War-Time living. We are at war with ourselves.
Romans 8:8 " Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
Piper also says, that we shouldn't only pursue righteousness in our lives, we should prefer righteousness in our lives.
Pray to the Lord that he give you a strong hatred of sin that is in your life. And pray for the Lord to give you an even stronger love for Him and His Word, and a desire and ability to live out your Christian life in obedience.
To God be the Glory.
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15