2026-03-24
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
Righteousness is not an optional spiritual supplement; it’s a necessity for Christian living. It’s something you must desire as much as a starving man desires food and a thirsty man desires water. Are you hungry for more of Jesus? Do you have an appetite for His Word? Do you long to experience the kingdom of God? If so, Jesus says that you will be “filled.” He will give you more of Himself.
When you are hungry for righteousness, He will impart to you the power of a righteous life – which means keeping God’s commandments and following the leading of the Holy Spirit day by day. The Lord will give you the power to say “no” to offers that are not right in His eyes. And He will give you the power to say “yes” to those things that are of eternal benefit and to manifest His power in right decisions, right actions, and right words spoken at the right times, in the right situations, for the right results. The Lord will fill you with the ability to be His agent at home, at school, in your place of business, in the political arena, and in church.
When you hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will satisfy you with His presence, His power, and His peace. When you deeply and truly desire more of the Lord, you will receive more of the Lord to the point of being filled to overflowing. God keeps His promises, and He will keep this one also: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Soul food: Jer 1-3; Luke 20:20-26; Ps 55:12-23;
Prov 8:19-21
2025-08-15
Romans 5:17 NKJV
The Bible says, “Those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” The righteousness that God approves and accepts comes as a “gift.” And it’s based on “grace.” And grace means “unmerited, unearned, undeserved favour with God.”
Are you trying through your own efforts to earn right standing before God? Do you believe that by doing more good deeds, giving more, praying more, serving more, that God will love you more and bless you? These are all good things. Indeed, they are important things. But the righteousness God accepts is a “gift” which He Himself bestows and you yourself cannot earn. Indeed, if you had to earn it, it wouldn’t be a gift; it would be a reward for your efforts. Furthermore, how would you know when you had done enough to please God and be acceptable before Him? Satan will take every opportunity to condemn you for never doing enough. When that happens, you begin to fall into the trap of guilt, condemnation, and shame.
When you base your relationship with God on your own merits, you will always fall short. Note something else in this Scripture. When you see your righteousness as a gift bestowed upon you by God because you have placed your trust in Christ, you begin to “reign in life.” Link this Scripture together with Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you,” and you begin to get the picture. Instead of being ruled by the world, the flesh, and the devil, you “reign” over them.
Soul food: Judg 19:16-21:25; Matt 18:10-20; Ps 119:97-104; Pro 18:6-8
2025-01-27
Romans 3:21 NKJV
You will go to heaven because you trusted in Christ’s righteousness, not your own. You say, “But isn’t doing the right things important?” Absolutely. Your reward in heaven will be predicated upon what you do for God here on earth. But your salvation depends on trusting in Christ’s performance, not your own. Satan knows this, and he will try to drive you back to performance-based Christian living. And when you fail, as you assuredly will, he will condemn you and tell you that you don’t measure up and, therefore, you are unworthy of God’s love and acceptance. Notice what condemnation does:
(1) It robs you of confidence before God. You are unable to claim His promises because you feel unworthy. Thirty-one times in Scripture, it says that we are “in Christ.” That’s one for every day of the month. So, each day, remind yourself that you are “in Christ,” and because He is worthy, you are accepted.
(2) It makes you irritable and unpleasant to be around. Addiction counselors describe this as being “squirrelly” or uneasy in your own skin. As a result, you begin to put out what you feel on the inside. What’s the answer?
Paul gives it to us: “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight… But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed… even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (vv. 20-22 NKJV).
Bottom line: Righteousness is credited to your account through faith, not works. Today you are loved and accepted “in Christ.”
Soul food: Ecc 1-4; Luke 6:27-36; Ps 107:1-9; Prov 3:13-18
2021-09-20
Jeremiah 23:6 NLT
The name Jehovah-Tsidkenu: the Lord my righteousness, was given by God to Jeremiah, announcing the coming of Jesus. “I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line…And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness'” (vv. 5-6 NLT).
Before Jesus came, our righteousness was dependent on our own efforts. “We will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us” (Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT). But we failed the righteousness test big time! Then the “Lord our righteousness” became our solution. Here’s how: God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV).
Notice, in Jesus we’ve “become” [been converted…turned into] righteous before God! We’re not to try to do right just so we can feel right before God or generate a supply of good works to draw from when we need credit. We’re to draw what we need from the righteousness deposited into our account by Christ.
If we need humility, purity, patience, kindness or love, it’s useless to look within ourselves. They’re just not there! We must draw them by faith from the supply stored up for us in Jesus. Guilty hearts can draw forgiveness, anxious spirits can draw peace, weary souls can draw strength, and confused minds can draw guidance from our inexhaustible supply in Jehovah-Tsidkenu.
Just as you receive salvation by faith, you must draw righteousness and everything else you need through faith in what God has accomplished and stored up for your use in Jesus – the Lord your righteousness!
Soul food: Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-40; Zech 14:16-21
2020-05-19
2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
Let’s begin by saying it again: What you believe about God and your money will determine what you believe Him for. If the reason you want more is to “keep up with the Joneses,” or brag about what you own, don’t expect God to bless your plans. The Bible says, “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble” (James 4:6 NIV). Humility says, “Lord, everything I have is a gift from You. And everything I’ll ever need comes from You.” Before you ask God for more money, you must know that your heart motive is right. And when you know it is, you can stand on this Scripture: “Whoever sows sparingly will…reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will…reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.’ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” (2 Corinthians 9:9-11 NIV). Who does God give seed to? Sowers – not hoarders. When does God multiply your seed? When you sow it to fulfill His purposes.
Soul food: Titus 1-3; Mark 10:1-12; Ps 88:1-9a; Prov 11:24-26
