Praise God we can have this gift of righteousness the moment we surrender our lives to our Good Shepherd.
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Ps 23:3 ESV
In Christ, we are given the righteousness of God. (2Co 5:21)
Righteousness speaks of our position with God, not our performance before Him. Righteousness speaks about what God has done for us and now is doing in us. Righteousness is all about Grace, not works. Again, righteousness is the gift we are given when we surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord. When we choose to walk with our Good Shepherd, even if we do get into trouble now and again, because we will, this state of being right in God’s eyes will never change. Righteousness tells us we belong to Him and He will never…NEVER…leave nor forsake us. (Heb 13:5) Sweet righteousness makes all the difference in our lives…or it can, if we receive it.
I don’t quite remember where I heard this last point, but it is pretty powerful: “The Christian life is walking towards the victory we already have in Christ!” The more we understand we are already righteous because God has imputed this gift upon us, the more we will follow our Good Shepherd and start acting like we are righteous. And why does He work so diligently to help us act righteous? It is for His Name’s sake! We represent Him, my Friends, and sadly, too often we give Jesus a bad rep! But the more mature we become, the more others can catch a glimpse of this Good Shepherd’s Love, and hopefully, come follow Him too!
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
35- Mt 16:24
36- Isa 53:6
37- Ps 23:1-3
<>< Peace, Diane
