Word for Today: Righteousness (2)-Let righteousness be your number one priority.
Ministry of the Word (MOW): True Spirituality
Memory Verse
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” ( Matthew 6:33).
Dearly Beloved
Many Christians spend a lot of time worrying about the things of this life. Many struggle so much for education, position, title, material things etc. Please, don’t get me wrong, these things are important for our overall well being. However, many a times, we don’t get them by struggling so much. These things are to be ADDED unto us, if we are focused on pleasing God.
Our Great Provider admonished : “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). So, worrying about the future is contrary to the word of God.
I guess righteousness might mean different things to different people. Righteousness is the nature of the true God in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Without righteousness, we cannot please God. Unrighteousness is going contrary to the nature of God. It means going contrary to the word of God. Unrighteousness is sinful. It connotes law breaking. Unrighteousness is often at the level of our thoughts, hence Prophet Isaiah admonished:
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” ( Isaiah 55:7). Wickedness is to do with acts, but unrighteousness with thoughts. So, a person may not be wicked, but not necessarily righteous. Both the unrighteous and the wicked need to return to God.
Without the word of God, people are unlikely to know when they go contrary to His will, hence not in position to confess. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
I am often guided by the word of St James:
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17)
Please, keep your thoughts and mind healthy and ‘cleanse it with the washing of water by the word’ (Ephesians 5:26). Your destiny is dependent on your predominant thoughts, beliefs , confessions and actions.
Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Jesus.
To grow spiritually requires daily meditation with the word of God (Joshua 1:8) and seeking first the kingdom of God and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33). It also requires total fear of God, and spiritual training in the word of God: “Train yourself to be godly”(1Tim 4:7-8 NIV).
Prayer:
Our Father and our God, please help us to seek first your kingdom and its righteousness in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Yours in the Vineyard of Christ.
Bro Ben Bassey & the beloved MOW family.
Dr Ben Bassey is a licensed psychiatrist and a spiritual health counselor:
Email: benbassey@gmail.com
To know more about the Ministry of the Word, please visit:
http//www.abasihealthfoundation.org
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