Devotion
Rest In Righteousness
David Jacobs
Men are sinners by nature and action: all of us have sinned and all of us will sin. God is holy, he does not sin, cannot look upon it, and it is this that separates us from Him. This is the fundamental difference between humans and God.
God showed us mercy, however, by sending his only son, Jesus Christ, to live and die in sin for us. As the verse says, Jesus, "who knew no sin," was brought to the world so "that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." It is a lot of pressure, no doubt, that we must bear for the remainder of our lives. Compared to the pressure that Jesus felt, it is nothing. Jesus was holy, completely devoid of sin, made to be a sinner by his father so that we might be saved.
God would have been entirely within his right to leave us to our sinful ways, but it is out of His mercy and love that He entered a covenant with Christians. He has provided us a way to salvation if we keep the covenant of His works. This is what the entire Bible discusses, the covenant and the prophecy that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelations. Jesus has shown us the way, has humbled himself so that we may be made whole with God. Perhaps my favorite example, is from Matthew 3:13-15.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
John the Baptist knows that he is not worthy of being baptized by Christ. Jesus humbles him, showing us all how to treat one another as God would want.
Prayer
We truly are not worth of God's mercy and love. We are sinners, responsible even for the death of God's only son. Through God, however, we have our chance at redemption. We have a chance to rest in His righteousness, to be made whole with Him once again. The choice is ours. Thanks be to God.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
