$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

I think that is what Adam had \u2013 that is until the fall, then everything got kind of messed up. The early couple were called many things but \u201cfull\u201d probably wasn\u2019t one of them as they traded out their hunger for temporary fulfilment. Chili\u2019s restaurant jingle comes to mind, \u201cI want my baby back babyback babyback ribs\u201d.<\/p>\n

God takes his time slow cooking up salvation because those things that are sweetest and best take preparation and time.<\/p>\n

Holiness is the attribute most know about God. God can make people holy but righteousness; well that\u2019s a whole new twist. Holiness means we are pure before God, righteousness means we act purely towards others. Righteousness is \u201choliness\u201d in relation to others. We act towards people in a certain way but if it is fair, just and equitable we can say righteousness is having her perfect work in someone. The only hope we have of being righteous with others is by looking at God\u2019s example \u2013 He is righteous towards everyone, though our modern culture would accuse Him otherwise.<\/p>\n

Last month I raced to write the blog and wrote about the topic at hand (holiness). Some asked if I was referring to something specific (I wasn\u2019t, just addressing the topic). Soon after I got emails about a mega church falling into moral decline. Because I wrote about things in advance someone asked if I knew the \u201cinside\u201d scoop. No, just writing what I felt led to write. I was shocked to hear some of the stories. While I allude to leadership issues or mention me-too out of a desire to address the \u201ccontemporary issues\u201d, I was not directing any comments to those events. Some want things swept under the rug and some want the removal of leaders when there are issues. When the storm hits people like to cook up their own theology which makes things messier. This week our topic is being \u201crighteous\u201d and that we must act towards one another as God acts towards us \u2013 in a morally righteous and pure way. Some like to pile on shame, blame and punishment which are contrary to God\u2019s character and inadvertently pull themselves into the unholy mess. Evil also likes to spread out and multiply.<\/p>\n

Vertical relationship with God is essential and only possible through the work of the cross. Horizontal relationships \u2013 meaning with other people, are only possible when done through the work of the cross. If we have died to our \u201crights\u201d and ego\u2019s that means we do everything possible to make amends. That does not mean one person wins and the other loses, it means Christ wins and all come before Him to work it out with humility and vulnerability. This is not easy and as I write this I realize my \u201cwant to\u201d is a lot stronger than my muscles to accomplish such things. Maybe that is why grace and patience are required to walk things out. Above all, the power of the Holy Spirit is needed \u2013 but must be invited into the equation. Romans 3:10 tells us, \u201cnone is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.\u201d Serious words. Notice that the only thing they do together is \u2013 become worthless!<\/p>\n

So what do we do then? Romans 3:22 tells us, \u201cThis righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.\u201d We need the example and life of Jesus to be righteous. Many religions point to ways to be a good human being. Christianity points out that there is only one and it is not me (or you) but the Christ. While religion points to abstaining from drinking, wearing makeup, some even follow rituals or habits but the Hebrew understanding of righteousness (tzdiq) is that of nomadic people following a pathway. The idea is not to \u201cappear\u201d holy but to follow in the path of the Holy One. Image is less important then in God\u2019s way. The Ancient Hebrew Research Center states that \u201cA righteous person is not one who lives a religiously pious life, the common interpretation of this word, he is one who follows the correct path, the path (way) of God.\u201d It looks less like sister Margaret wearing a dress on a Sunday and more like sister Mary going to church in spite of dealing with a drunk husband all night. It looks less like brother Carl doing avoiding drugs and more like brother Mike praying at the altar for direction when his kids have gone to jail.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Following the narrow way can be painful. Choosing the narrow way and carefully following where Jesus leads takes guts, faith and patience. Not wearing teal colored eyeshadow \u2013 not so much. Seeking Christ when your world has dropped out means you single heartedly look up. It means you press in to find and follow God\u2019s will- regardless of what the crowd says. Wearing white after labor day or abstaining from hoop earrings is just really not the point \u2013 but religion has made it that way. We have traded out vibrant, passionate lives following after the will of God for a new dress code. Righteousness must mean more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mt.5:6 \u2013 Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, will be filled. That\u2019s quite the promise. When we fast is it to make God do our will or is it asking Him to place His will and ways in our lives? I want His ways but often my flesh wants what is easy. Perhaps that is why fasting is a necessary spiritual discipline \u2013 to redirect what we hunger and thirst for?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Turn from evil and do good;
\n seek peace and pursue it.<\/p>\n

^{15 <\/sup><\/strong>The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
\n and his ears are attentive to their cry;
\n^{16 <\/sup><\/strong>but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
\n to blot out their name from the earth.<\/p>\n}}

^{17 <\/sup><\/strong>The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
\n he delivers them from all their troubles.
\n^{18 <\/sup><\/strong>The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
\n and saves those who are crushed in spirit.<\/p>\n}}

^{19 <\/sup><\/strong>The righteous person may have many troubles,
\n but the Lord delivers him (and her) from them all; Psalm 34:14-19<\/p>\n}

<\/p>\n

My prayer for us this week is two-fold, one that we would understand and believe that God is righteous towards us \u2013 always. We can trust His character and heart. Secondly, that we can never be righteous on our own but a need a Savior and empowering Holy Spirit to help us. Wrap that in grace, mercy and patience and there is potential for wonderful relationships. In a culture and nation that is set on dishonoring, distorting and tearing down people, it would be a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Help us Jesus to look to you for our actions and relationship cues. Lead and guide us in Your Truth and in the Way we should go. Thank you for being a compassionate, righteous guide. We hunger and thirst for YOU and Your ways. Amen.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RenaeRoche2018<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI stayed up all night trying to follow the sun\u2026 Then it dawned on me\u201d Lord help us to follow YOU in all our relationships and dealings this week.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the favorite things we like to do is watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on television. Guy Fieri is the coolest chef and watching his show leaves you with hunger for some good cooking. We\u2019ve been to some of the restaurants he has featured and eaten some mouthwatering, good grub. When it comes to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":675,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions\/675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}