I’m a little late with the message this morning because I spent a little more time sleeping. Sometimes we have to listen to our bodies when we have been stretching ourselves too far and trying to do too much. I praise God for discernment. The question of the day is; are you a self-righteous person? The scripture today will bless us all and remind us of what is right and true.
Today’s Prayer
Father, for fear that we forget, remind us that Jesus came not only to take on our sin, but by His sacrifice, You offered us forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. You promised also, to send the Holy Spirit to prod us when we face temptation, and to give us health and strength to resist. He came to change our lives! Only when we sincerely repent, and desire to commit our lives fully to You will we experience an inner peace and joy, and recognize Your every-day blessings. It all depends on us, how sincere we are. Help us to desire You and to want all that You have for us. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Let’s eat.
The Righteousness of God
Declared at the Cross
Romans 3:26 –
For he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
With Psalm 85:10 –
Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!
Revealed in the Gospel
Romans 1:17 –
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
With Romans 3:21 –
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
And Romans 10:10 –
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
Imputed to Believers
Romans 4:6 –
David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
Hebrews 11:4 –
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
1 Corinthians 1:30 –
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
Rejected by Legalists
Romans 10:3 –
For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.
Luke 18:9-14 –
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Titus 3:5 –
He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Quote of the Day
What you need to do, is to put your will over completely into the hands of your Lord, surrendering to Him the entire control of it. Say, “Yes, Lord, YES!” to everything, and trust Him so to work in you to will, as to bring your whole wishes and affections into conformity with His own sweet, and lovable, and most lovely will. It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy, and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.
Hannah Whitall Smith
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY
James H. Taylor Sr. – Kankakee City News has published my Daily meal message for a decade.