Tuesday, March 13, 2012

A Beautiful Attitude (Part 4): A Satisfied Life Is A Righteous Life

"A satisfied life is a righteous life."




"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)


Good morning beloved. God's grace and peace be with you, your family, and your ministry both today and forever. Amen. 

Today I will continue on with Part 4 of A Beautiful Attitude, sharing what God has placed into my heart when it comes to the Beatitudes- Staples for good living and the blessings that go along with them.


As I read the Beatitude above, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled, I asked God what is righteousness? So from that question we will enter into this journey together. Are you ready? LET'S GO!

First of all I wanted to define what righteousness is for both you and I. Keep in mind this is a journey we are all going on- Our walk with Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. 

Okay, so what is righteousness? Here's a definition I found that speaks exactly to what righteousness is. The Greek word that we translate as righteous is dike (pronounced, dee-kay). And while the ancient Greek meaning was tendency, the use of this word in the Bible implies justice and conformance to established standards. Justice means doing the right thing; and conformance to established standards (in the Bible) refers to following the ways of God. So, the word righteous can also be translated as just, since righteousness is so closely tied to justice.

I'm learning to look to the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words as these were the original languages spoken and written. Sometimes we simply must go to the past to see our present and future more clearly; hence renewing our minds by the Word of God (see Romans 12:2). Amen. So! what spoke to me was the word tendency. Sometimes the word tendency gets a bad rep, but we are looking to the positive of all things. Right!? Therefore, I would like to have a tendency to seek to do the right thing and follow the ways of God all the days of my life then I will stand before the Lord on that day in time and be counted righteous by Him, because I lived a righteous life before all others. Amen.

I shared with you what I've been learning so far about what it means to be righteous, how I desire to be righteous and now I'll hook you up with a link that pretty much lists many versus in scripture as well as the definition above that we both read a few moments ago and many more blessings (click HERE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS).

I must say, this blog post is different than my others. It's more lighter. It's still from God's heart to my heart to all your precious hearts, but God is good and the direction He leads me in, you in, all of us in, shows us many wonderful things; of Himself as well as ourselves. Truly a beautiful exchange. Praise the Lord!

Now I find interesting how the Beatitude says those who hunger and thirst as to me it makes me think of a meal. Yes! I'm hungry...(Ha!), but that's beside the point. A meal to me consists of a beverage, an appetizer, a small salad, a main dish and dessert- that's a full course meal to me. To me being thirsty and hungering for righteousness is actually something that is beneficial to our bodies and in actuality we need to be righteous in order to survive, as the Word of God speaks those who don't take in the nourishment of righteousness (they are malnourished in the ways of God) as unrighteous; those who perish (click HERE TO SEE WHAT MALNOURISHED TO GOD LOOKS LIKE).

Now having a meal is nourishing but the right type of foods eaten and beverages we drink will guarantee us a satisfied feeling; a true contentment. To me, I can eat pizza almost everyday, but eventually I desire to have a complete meal as pizza is not a meal. To me, I enjoy drinking Arizona Tea, but it always leaves me thirsty. But on the other hand, if I have a full course meal that is sensible and a nice cold glass of water, I am not only filled (satisfied), but I have no thirst either as only water can quench our thirsts. Did you know that Jesus is called the bread of life and the living water? It's no coincidence that the way to righteous living as well to heaven is through Jesus (see John 14:6). Consuming Jesus (see John 6:56-58) is that sensible meal for our souls and the right living that God calls us to. How so? Through accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord (see Romans 10:9-10/John 3:16), Through Baptism (see Romans 6:3-11/ Matthew 3:13-15), Through Communion (see Luke 22:14-19/1 Corinthians 11:26) , In Loving Him (see Luke 10:27) and Living life for God and not for ourselves (see 2 Corinthians 5:15/ Galatians 2:19-20) Through faithfully following Jesus to where He is calling us. As Jesus says, let us follow His words to all of us, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(John 15:1-8).

I have both known the malnourished weakness of an unrighteous life and the strength that comes through a righteous life. Does this make living a righteous life easy? Certainly not! But we take heart, that is being filled with joy, as one; we know in life we will experience troubles and two; Jesus has already overcome the world (see John 16:33), therefore we can be confident if we trust in Him with all our heart, rely on Him and not our limited understanding, He will make that way for us known (see Proverbs 3:5-6). Amen.

What I remain in awe over God in these days is that as Easter draws near just as it was last year and the year before that, my heart, my thoughts and my speech are directed towards Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. With that I will invite you to rise to the call and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will save you and make your path straight leading right to Him here and now and for eternity. Amen.



Let us pray: A prayer of Salvation (Make it personal/Make it count)


Jesus, please forgive me for doing things my way. Help me to do things Your way. My soul is in need of saving, and I don't want to live life now or in eternity without you. I confess that You are Lord and believe in my heart God raised You from the dead. I hunger and thirst for righteousness. Please fill me. Save me, help me, cleanse me, make me new and show me the way everlasting. I choose You as my Savior and Lord.  




Beloved, if you prayed this prayer I believe according to the Word of God that you are now saved. Congratulations!! I'd be honored if you would leave a comment if you accepted Jesus by confessing from your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart God raised Him from the dead three days later. I pray God direct you to the church where you will feel right at home. Stay in the Word of God, and keep God first. He'll take you places you never dreamed of. 


As always...YOU ARE LOVED.


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