Pursue righteousness
Isaiah 51: 1"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD…”
This would be quite a crazy statement to make to a bunch of people who are pursuing film celebrities, entertainers, magicians, con men, rock stars, sports stars and all the stars in the world except the ‘bright morning star’ – His name is Jesus! Above scripture talks to people who pursue righteousness……and seek God!
Several years back, a friend of mine asked me to write for his group of friends and when I started shooting out my devotions, they threatened him and said, ‘ask her to stop writing’, few of my colleagues after reading my devotions said, ‘she is just too much’; however, I formed my own group and started sending my devotions, there were haters and lovers. After a decade, one particular young engineer came forward on his own to sponsor and open my own website where my devotions are posted too. Well, I heard someone tell me, people in my office are too scared to read your devotions because they take you deep to the dark crevices of their heart and open up hidden sins. I got to talk because the Lord said,” Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression..” (Isaiah 58:1)
How could the Lord bless our worship when the guitar and keyboard are bought in black without paying taxes? How could the Lord bless the church when it is built on land without approval? How could the Lord bless the music album when it is produced through pirated software and stuff that are without license? You can produce but there would be no fruits..in other words ..souls will not be redeemed. I was getting my book printed in a Christian printing press, he had a huge photo of his parents in the main hall and also a photo of Christ; however, he has not bought a single software that he uses for his business, in fact, he told me he would download some for me.(gutter water) When I explained that it was not ethical to do business with pirated software, he gave me a weird look and from that moment his attitude towards me was downright rude. Thank you Jesus!
You know what, the world cannot stand you when you point out their wickedness, you see this happening to Apostle Paul when he tries to point out the truth to Felix in Acts 24: 25,26 read,
25 But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you."
26 At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him.”
Did you see that wicked heart? The Bible says: Psalm 11:6” Upon the wicked He will rain snares, fire, brimstone, burning wind will be the portion of their cup.”
Clean file
Isaiah 58:8”…your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.”
“The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard”! His protection would follow us wherever we go, isn’t this awesome? It is so important that we maintain clean records in our life so that we can go to God with our clean file during times of danger and emergency and tell Him like Daniel, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime." Daniel 6:22. Did you see that? You can be bold like a lion in the midst of lions when you have an honest life and clean chit before God.
I was invited to preach in a village and stay with the pastor’s family for three days, more than the congregation, the pastor was being touched tremendously, on the last day the pastor came to me and said, ‘I have been taking electric current from the Government connection for my personal use and also for the church; however, I got my own power connection, but still I continued to use the facility drawing free current from the Government connection illegally since I didn’t have to shell out any money but these three days God had been pointing out my mistake and correcting me. I will now cut the connection and use my own.” Glory to Jesus! This is repentance. Sometimes ignorantly people continue to do unrighteous acts and at other times they presumptuously live a corrupted life despite knowing the truth, God says, “Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.” Proverbs 11:21
Several years ago, we had saved up some money to buy a camera for shooting our sermons, we needed a good one though, when we started doing enquiry, we found out that if we buy a camera without bill then the cost was drastically low; nevertheless we stuck to our decision and waited for God to give us more funds so that we could buy one that we can afford in the righteous way. Can I tell you the fruits of such acts? Such purchases become a great blessing for you! Check out your life!
Work ethics
Ruth 2:12"May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."
Your goodies are guaranteed when you walk in the path of righteousness, read:Isaiah 58:11” the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden.” This is the scripture that comes to my mind when I read about Ruth. Scorched places! Have you been there? Do you know what it is to be there? Nevertheless, when your walk with God is straight, then God would satisfy you even during such seasons, tough to comprehend though. No husband, no father-in-law, no men folks at home to work and get home money, now she has to roll up her sleeves to work and take care of her mom-in-law too, Ruth not only does it well but does it honestly. Bravo! The Bible says, she worked hard and had a good reputation among the people, don’t you think this is very important? You are sure to get a reward when you work faithfully while no one watches you! Your time is important!
Friend, the moment you get into your work spot, now the time belongs to the organization, you cannot browse whatsup, facebook, instagram during working hours, that is unrighteousness, do you hear me? My teachers are not allowed to keep their phones with them during working hours, their phones are with me. Integrity is very important in your life. No fun wearing a big cross round the neck, carry a huge Bible but bribe the traffic police for traffic violations - shame! Pastors allow their minor children to have facebook accounts and also drive their vehicle which is unlawful. These kind of activities are norm today because EVERYBODY is doing it, the Bible says, Isaiah 59:7” Their feet run to evil..” Let the gentile people around you watch your ways and desire to know more about your God, Boaz got captivated by Ruth’s character (not her beauty) and later takes her as his wife. You will possess the land where you sowed righteousness! Prophetic word for someone out there!
Proverbs 15:9”….the Lord loves one who pursues righteousness.”
RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
'Jeremiah 23:6 "....The LORD our righteousness.'
We can never do this on our own, but when we abide in Jesus Christ, He gives us the grace to do all things that please God. Apostle Paul tells this beautifully, he says,
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”
When the old is discarded and when we put on Jesus Christ, He squeezes our heart to follow the path of Truth. When I worked earlier for a multinational bank, before joining full time ministry, I would utilize the benefits meant for others, that is, if somebody is not using the holiday resort on that particular year, we would go in their place and also sign all the bills under that name (not mine) We would justify our actions and say, ‘after all, these are given by the company to enjoy’, but the truth of the matter is, we are cheating. God pointed out all these things and made me walk away from unrighteousness,
Philippians 3:9”…not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith..”
