Tag: righteousness

Verb Tenses

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, Song2 Comments

As a Spanish teacher for over almost four decades, verb tenses have always interested me. I notice verb tenses as most people note adjectives and adverbs. I want to know when something happened or if it’s a progressive, ongoing thing. Look at the tenses in this scripture verse today.

The verse starts with God shows His love for us. Some translations say demonstrates, but no matter which version you read, this verb is in the present tense. This is an ongoing action…it happens constantly. We are sinners saved by grace, but we are still sinners. And God’s love keeps showing up for us, helping us to clean up our act and to be more like His Son.

The next verb says that Christ died for us. That is a completed action. Christ died once for all and he said “It is finished.” The sacrifice that God the Father sent Him to earth to complete is done, one time, on the cross. We are still sinners, but He died so that we can leave that sinful life behind and be washed clean in His blood. He died once but He loves forever. Tenses are interesting, but they are also important.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being around people who need to take a shower or bath. The smell often makes me try to hold my breath or I gag. I have come across homeless people who smell like this and it is not a pleasant odor. Now, consider that we were all unclean, wallowing in our sins, but God loved us right then, no more or no less than after we accepted His Son as our Savior. God loves the sinner even in the midst of our pig sty of sin and guilt and shame. Then, when we accept the sacrifice He made for us, He is the One who cleans us up with the precious blood of His Son and makes us righteous before Him. We didn’t have to get clean first and then come to the Lord. In fact, we cannot do anything to clean ourselves of our sin. That takes the blood of the Lamb, and that is the free gift of a loving Father.

Washed in the Blood-Faith&Grace

Prayer from the YouVersion App, Daily Refresh, 8-07-25

Transparency Before God

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture3 Comments

One of the things that we as Christians need to realize is that confession and cleansing is not a “once and done” action. It is ongoing, a process that gives us transparency before God. That transparency isn’t for God’s benefit. He already sees all and knows all about us. It is for our benefit, so that we can have a clear conscience and stand before the Father pure and holy as He desires for us. I am not getting into the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” I am talking about confessing our sins and being forgiven on a daily basis, sometimes more than once a day even.

I use the acronym ACTS for my prayers. If you are not familiar with it, here is what it stands for:

A=Adoration

C=Confession

T=Thanksgiving

S=Supplication

I used to get adoration and thanksgiving all mixed up together. But I have personally discovered that adoration is being aware of and loving God for His character traits, like His mercy, grace, holiness, etc. Thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He has done for us. So similar, but really not the same, right? Sometimes, it is hard for me not to jump right in and start telling God my prayer requests. But by using this acronym, I slow down and spend the time I need to acknowledge God’s power and love, tell Him how I have failed Him and ask for forgiveness, thank Him for what He has already done, and then I can tell Him my current needs or desires.

Anytime we sin, we let a little darkness into our lives. If we want to live completely in the light and be the light, we have to stay prayed up and transparent before God and others. There is a lot of talk about politicians being “transparent.” Since I don’t think that will ever truly happen this side of heaven, I don’t have a firm grasp on what transparency looks like, but my own thoughts are that I am totally and completely honest with God. It is humbling thing to do, but it is also necessary for my relationship with God to be closer and fulfilling. The door to my heart that God holds in His hand is closed until I open it with the key of confession and humble submission to ask for His forgiveness. It’s hard to hear from the Holy Spirit when I am holding on to unconfessed sin. Here are some reminders from the Scriptures of why the C in the acronym is vital to our walk with God.

Do you recall who in the Bible claimed to be holy and without sin? That would be the scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, whom Jesus called out and called “vipers.” Why would He do that to the leadership? They had not repented of their sins and they were using their positions of power to oppress the people under a multitude of requirements in order to gain power and wealth. I don’t claim to be holy except with the righteousness of Jesus. He cleanses me each time I go before Him and confess and then I move on and try to do better in the future. My right-standing before God is because of Jesus. My clear conscience before God is because I confess and ask for forgiveness.

Why not take a few minutes now to do the ACTS prayer? It can be as short or as long as you need. Just take time to refresh yourself before the Lord. I can assure you that you will have burdens lifted and be really ready to face a new day with the Lord. God bless you!

God Is Holy

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song2 Comments

This morning in my devotional, I read several scriptures about God’s holiness. Thus, I was enticed to dig in and find out more about what that means to me as a Christian.

The characteristic of holiness is ascribed to God repeatedly. In fact, one source I consulted (see footnote) reports that the word “holy” is used 431 times in the Old Testament in Hebrew and 180 times in the New Testament in Greek. When we think about God’s attributes, we generally think of His mercy, grace and love. Holiness seems to be a part of God that I don’t think about too much, but perhaps I should. God is holy because He is separate from His creation; in fact, the Bible says no one can look at God and live. Moses got to see the back of God from a cleft in a rock, but He did not see God face to face. That marvelous privilege will happen when we live with Him in a new heaven and new earth, where He is the ruler forever and ever.

But why does the Scripture constantly admonish us to be holy? Is that something that happens as soon as we become Christians? No, rather we are “becoming” holy…we will not be complete until we are in His presence.

I cannot imagine the entire earth being filled with God’s glory, but I am excited about it. The angels called God holy, and God tells us to be holy as He is. We are supposed to be separated from the sinful world and sacred to Him, our Creator and Redeemer.

Our God is holy and we can be like him but we cannot be Him. He is the Creator and the One worthy of all of our praise and adoration.

Is Jesus called “holy”? Of course, because He is the Son and has always been with the Father from the beginning. But Jesus doesn’t make us holy; He shows us the way to holiness by living according to the standards he set forth in His words to His disciples. The resource I used stated that even our best efforts cannot make us holy. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that “holy” is part of the name of the third person of the Trinity. He is the One who continually works within us to help us to be holy. That still small voice that reminds you of commitments to God and things you should be doing, wise choices you should make? That’s the Holy Spirit that resides in each of us once we have become adopted into the family of God as His children. God doesn’t just say, “be holy.” He sends a helper to aid us in our quest to be more like Him. (John 14:26)

I have not arrived at holiness yet, and I don’t know anyone who has. I think that Enoch, the man who walked with God and never died, must have reached that goal, but I don’t know for sure. I am on a quest to be better today, closer to Him, more “holy” if you will, than I was yesterday. Will I fail sometimes? Yes, more than I want to, but I am still striving to the goal of holiness because God says to be holy. He didn’t wave a magic wand and say, “Okay. You’re holy now.” We have to make wise choices every day, every hour and every minute in order to move towards the holiness that God wants to see in us. Does that mean that we are not righteous before God? No, I may be wrong, but I think righteousness is different than holiness. Righteousness is the right standing with God that Jesus gave us by dying for us on the cross. Holiness is what we strive towards in our daily walk with the Lord.

I am not sure I am making sense here to anyone but me, but I hope that this post has made you think about holiness and how God is holy all the time and He doesn’t have to work at it. He just is holy! Praise His Name!

**Source: https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-is-the-biblical-definition-of-holy/

Holy Forever-Chris Tomlin

Holy Is the Lord God Almighty-Chris Tomlin

Jesus Paid the Price

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/3

As I read today’s devotional, I was reminded of the summer that my husband took our two sons to Germany and Italy. In Italy, they all wanted to visit the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. There was one small problem. One of our sons had only packed shorts and the requirement is for the male visitors to wear trousers. The boys were disappointed until my husband came up with the plan to allow the younger son (who had not brought any long pants) to wear his (my husband’s) pants and my husband would forego the adventure, giving preference to our sons. (What a good dad, right?) The funny thing is that Harry was about four sizes larger in the waist than Steven and about four inches shorter, so Steven buckled the belt in the last hole, wore his pants as low as he dared to keep them on and off the two boys went on their quest to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece.

The devotional made me also think that we don’t have to worry about what we need to wear to get into heaven. We will be clothed in righteousness, provided freely by our Savior Jesus. God always provides a way for those He loves to be with Him, and I am thankful during this Easter season to be reminded of fun times that the boys had with their dad and the sacrificial love that Harry showed as an example to them of the great love that Jesus has for each of us. Harry saw the Sistine Chapel through the eyes of our sons who described it in minute detail for him. And God sees each of us through the eyes of His Son who has made us holy by the shedding of His own blood.

God is good, all the time. Circumstances are not always great, but God is always good.

The Wicked Are Thriving

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

It’s true, even though many people who call themselves Christians don’t want to admit it. Wickedness is rampant in our nation that once called itself a Christian nation. To our great shame, we have turned away from the Creator and towards our own sinful desires. The laws that are being passed are lawlessness against God and He will not be mocked forever. I am appalled at the churches taking a stand for sin and against God and His Word. I am utterly devastated that there seems to be few who are taking a stand against the “woke” movement that is destroying the fiber of morality in our land. But my hope lies in the Lord because I know that His judgment is coming and in the end, righteousness wins.

Have a blessed day and may you stand for truth and not fall for the lies of sinful mankind.

Thankful for God’s Judgments

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture4 Comments

Most times when I was disciplined as a child, I learned something. Hard lessons to learn about not lying, not rebelling, not taking things from others. But I learned that I would be punished. Nowadays, I am thankful for God’s judgments because it is from Him that I am learning to be more like Jesus.

I continue to pray for all who face the final judgment of God, and I am well aware that we learn the lessons about righteousness that He is teaching now or we will live eternity separated from Him because we didn’t accept and learn from Him.

Have a blessed day and look forward to God’s teaching us righteousness. It is for our good always.

Here is a quotation that seems fitting for today:

“A. W. Tozer wrote, “The only safe place for a sheep is by the side of his shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the Shepherd.”

Excerpt From

Mornings with Jesus 2022

Guideposts

https://books.apple.com/us/book/mornings-with-jesus-2022/id1559464097

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