Understanding our Righteouness in God

“ not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” Philippians 3: 9.

No amount of law-keeping, self improvement, discipline or religious effort can make us right with God. The righteousness that comes from God is by faith through Christ. If it was by law or works, none of us would be right with God for His standards are way beyond our reach.

Our righteousness comes by trusting Christ for 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. At our conversion, Christ righteousness is poured into us for God’s offer is to trade His righteousness for our sin.

By nature we tend to be attracted to that which is contrary to God. However when we accept Christ as our Lord and savior, God works in us “ both to will and to do for His good pleasure” Philippians 2: 13. God knowing our nature and weaknesses helps us to want to obey Him and also gives us the power to do His will.

God does not leave us alone in our struggles, but instead He comes alongside us and help us to “work out” our salvation, Philippians 2:12. When we make mistakes, we know that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, 1 John 1: 9.

Confession eases our consciences and lightens our cares which helps us to be at peace with God. Unconfessed sin gives the devil ammunition with which to continuously torment us. True confession involves a commitment not to continue sinning because one has a changed heart and not because they are caught.

In admitting our sins and in seeking forgiveness through repentance not only do we defeat the devil in his whiles against us but we also;

a) Agree with God that our sin is truly sin and that we are willing to turn from it

b) Ensure that we do not conceal the sin from God and also from ourselves

c) We recognize our tendency to sin and in the process choose to rely on God for sustenance
Our goal as Christians should be to know Christ and becoming more like Him. To do so we must lay aside anything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. This could be a relationship, a job or material things, only you know .

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/503081_understanding-our-righteousness-in-god#ixzz1PlGz5lXs

Being Content with What you have and Where you are

“--- I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” Philippians 4: 11-12.

Do you find yourself miserable because of certain life circumstances that you find yourself in? Are you worried constantly at how you will manage things? We are living in difficult times and as such there are many people who are having to do with very little. Others are faced with health issues that limit what they can do. The question is how are you handling the situation that you find yourself in?

A few years ago I was meditating on the word of God in prayers concerning certain difficult situations in my life. I was miserable because I needed certain things to change as well as wanting more materially. Obviously I was looking at life from a worldly perspective as opposed to God’s perspective. Suddenly I received a revelation that all I needed I already had. I had been so focused on what I did not have and forgot to appreciate what I had, which in reality was all that I needed.

Many times we miss the daily joy of life because we are too focused on what is not or are engrossed with worries for tomorrow. We want more to fill the emptiness in our lives instead of filling the space with Christ. Christ warned us against worrying about life issues like food, clothing, shelter amongst such because life was much more than that, Mathew 6:25.

Worry has many ill effects, apart from robbing us the joy of living. Instead of living for the moment and accomplishing what we can with what we have, we tend to forfeit what we have in pursuit of what we do not have. The reality of the matter is that if one is not thankful of what they have now, they will still not be thankful when they have those others things that they desire.

Paul in his epistle to the Philippians, shows that he had overcome this problem by learning to focus on Christ and alludes to the fact that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens me“ Philippians 4:13. Indeed scripture states that Jesus is “ the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12: 2) and in all things we should focus on Him and avoid being overwhelmed by circumstances surrounding us.

Paul was content because he saw things from God’s perspective. He focused on what he was supposed to do and not on what he felt he should have. He had detached himself from the nonessentials so that he could concentrate on the eternal.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/460463_being-content-with-what-you-have-and-where-you-are#ixzz1JNPWi6lW

Have you entered the sabbath rest?

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” Hebrews 4: 9-10.

Have you ever felt like the Lord was calling you for a conversation and when you obeyed you knew He was warning you or reminding you of something? Well that happened to me not long ago when I was feeling disturbed in my spirit but did not know why. I tend to be like apostle Peter sometimes, where I do mighty things in the name of the Lord but get overwhelmed when I take my eyes from the Lord and view my circumstances from a carnal mind and start drowning.

Let’s face it, the ways of the Lord are hard to fathom and only our faith in Him can sustain us. Sometimes one feels like the Lord does not take cognizant of time or has forsaken them and in the process worry unnecessarily. Jesus reminds us that “which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Mathew 6: 27. This is where I was when the Lord called me for a conversation.

Sometimes the Lord closes certain doors in our lives that we perhaps previously found our self worth in. He makes us to be totally depended on Him living on a day to day basis. In the process God teaches us to trust in Him and to receive from Him. The Lord may do this by removing you from a place of comfort and move you to a foreign place away from your security. The challenges may be many but it is in this place that you learn to depend on the Lord for your sanity.

As believers we always claim to be depended on the Lord and it is easy to say that when we are financially alright, we are healthy, our relationships are working well, our children are doing what we expect of them among such issues. But what happens when such securities are taken away from us? Will our actions be compatible with what we say we believe? The only way we can know is when we are tested by having such confidence taken away from us.

According to scripture “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’ Hebrews 11: 6. In the midst of our trials our faith conditions us to know that God is able to see us through and that He holds the key to our deliverance. It will be in the midst of these challenges that the Lord proves to us that He is all we need in the long run, for "He is".

James writes “ Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -and tremble!” James 2: 18-19. James is saying that our faith will show in our works. It is not enough to have an intellectual assent about God, for even demons do that, but the truth of what we believe in will be manifest through our thoughts and conduct. And sometimes it is in our trials that our faith is proved.

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/367661_have-you-entered-the-sabbath-rest#ixzz15CG0w5O4