I like to read Proverbs. It is full of life lessons and guidance. Many of the passages refer to being “Righteous.” For example,…the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous…the Lord delivers them from their troubles…the righteous will inherit the land….the mouths of the righteous utter wisdom….

So what is meant by “the Righteous?” In worldly terms, righteous means “good conduct” or “virtuous”

In the Bible, the apostle Paul clarifies God’s meaning of “righteous” in Romans 1:17 “For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. As it is written “the righteous will live by faith”. NIV

The answer to the question “What is meant by righteous?” is, We are righteous by faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ who saved us. Faith in this Gospel is what makes us righteous, not our good behavior or virtue.

Dear Lord, Thank you that we know that we are righteous, right with You, through our faith in Your gift of Salvation. Help us live by faith to do Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

There is a story about a man who walked a tight-rope across the Niagara Falls with a crowd watching. After he finished, he walked across the falls on the tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow with his dog in it. Finally, after he did that, he walked across with his son in the wheelbarrow. When he finished, he asked a man in the crowd. “Do you think I could do that again?” the man answered, “yes.” He asked the man again, “are you really sure I can do that again?” the man said with confidence, “definitely.” Then the tight rope walker said to the man, “get in the wheelbarrow.”

In Luke 24:38, after Jesus rises from the dead, he visits the disciples and says, “Why are you frightened? Why are your hearts filled with doubt?”

As humans, we may seem to have great confidence in our opinions and beliefs, but sometimes we don’t believe enough to have the confidence to overcome our emotions and our logic. For the spectator and the tightrope walker, it is overcoming the fear that even though he saw the tightrope walker perform the stunt three times, he could not overcome his fear and get in the wheelbarrow, because of the potential risks.

In the case of the disciples, their logical minds had trouble accepting what they were seeing, Jesus alive, in the flesh, after they watched him be crucified.

It takes boldness and confidence in God’s commitment to be with us, for us to overcome our logic and our emotions and do what we know God wants us to. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Dear Lord, When we are afraid, or our logic conflicts with our faithful following of your will, you can give us the strength to overcome. Help us overcome these obstacles to act for you. Help us realize each time we do, we have become more capable to overcome the next obstacle. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I think we all have seen the perimeter of security that the Secret Service form around the US President when he is in public places. The security team clears a path and maintains a safe area to allow the President to go about his movements freely, but protected.

This is the image that comes to my mind when I read Psalm 34:7 which says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”

What a comfort this message should provide us, that we have our own security force protecting us from evil. We cannot see it, but we can know it, if we put our faith and trust in God.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the comfort and confidence we can have when we rely on your promise to protect us. Help us stay faithful to you, so no matter what we encounter, we know your angel is there protecting us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Many times in life there is something we know we should do, something we feel that God is calling us to do, but we are reluctant to start. We don’t start because we don’t know if we will have the time, the money, the ability, the support, or some other limitation, to make it work.

What we don’t realize, is that God may be waiting for us to move forward, demonstrating our faith in him, and then he will give us that time, money, knowledge, etc, we wanted before we started.

In Joshua 3 the Israelites are just about to cross the Jordan River and enter the “Promised Land” after wandering in the desert for 40 years. The Jordan River at that time was at its high, overflowing it’s banks.

Joshua 3:7,8, “The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.'” verse 13 then says, “As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

God told them to start, and once they did, he took over. He will do this for us if we act faithfully.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the knowledge that you are always there to support us when we step out in faithful response to your call. Help us have the courage to do so. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

In the Old Testament, we read about the prophets that God spoke through to get his message to the people and their leaders. God sent the prophets to the Israelites when they were “off course” and had stopped following God’s guidance.

In many cases God would have the prophet tell the people they were not following God’s guidance, and that God was going to punish them if they didn’t return to Him. Most times, they went on following their own desires, ultimately leading to terrible consequences, like foreign invasion, or enslavement, for them.

In Isaiah 48, Isaiah the prophet is bringing God’s message to the Israelites who are going away from God’s direction. In Isaiah 48:17-18 he tells them, “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.”

Isn’t it that way for us as well? If we look for God’s guidance and think about it before acting, we will often avoid many of the self-inflicted problems of life. When we listen for God’s guidance and follow it, we can have the “peace flowing like a gentle river,” that Isaiah describes, knowing that God is directing our steps.

Dear Lord, As humans, it is difficult for us to overcome the temptation to follow our own direction rather than yours. Remind us to ask for your guidance and listen, so that we may have the peace you promise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.