Righteousness

Pursue Righteousness

[151 words] Numerous times in Scripture the Lord encourages us to “pursue righteousness.” The term righteousness is variously used, sometimes referring to virtuous or obedient living and other times referring to the condition of being made innocent by God and thus acceptable to Him. The idea is this: The Lord expects us to live a…

The Day Jesus Cleaned House

[336 words] Why did Jesus have to cleanse the temple? Why was He not content to just let things go on business as usual? In John 2, Jesus “cleans house” literally because those Jews had made the temple a “house of merchandise” (John 2:16). There were things, behaviors, and attitudes that didn’t belong in a…

Having a Righteous Character

[277 words] “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from…

Are You Hitting the Mark?

An old evangelist was telling another man how he might improve his lifestyle. “You know,” answered the fellow, “I’ve been aiming to do that.” “Well,” said the preacher, “quit aiming and start shooting.” The Bible says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). This literally means to miss the…