2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1343
Righteousness: divine judicial approval, justice
From the Greek word 'dikaiosuné' (pronounced dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay), refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination).
BECOMING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
And just how do we obtain this divine judicial approval from God?
While it may not seem like part of the Christmas message, it is in fact the definition of Christmas. This is the reason Jesus Christ was born: to save mankind from the punishment of their sins and to bring them into the fulness of God: to become the righteousness of God through Himself.
John 17:31
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
This can only be accomplished through the power of God and the faith He births within us when we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord. Lord of All. Lord of Creation: nature, the stars and the heavens, people. Lord of one's own self. The Lord My Righteousness: 1 Corinthians 1:30 "It is because of Him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption."
BECOMING ONE IN CHRIST
John 17:20-21 is when Jesus prayed for us, for the believers who would believe after His disciples spread the gospel throughout the world.
20. I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
21. that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
THE WAY IN
Jeremiah 32:39
I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
In Isaiah 35:8 there is a road, "The Way of Holiness". This, too, is Christ. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us, "I am the Way".
There is no other way to atone for our own sins. God says our righteousness in and of our ownselves is "filthy rags" and will not be accepted by Him when we stand before Him in judgment (Isaiah 64:6). Self-righteousness is not God-righteousness. Pride is not righteousness. Greed is not righteousness. Self-awareness is not righteousness. Self-involvement is not righteousness. Self-promotion in anything is a filthy rag and will be burned to ash in the fires of God's altar.
While kindness and generosity help people be nice to each other on the surface of life, these things will not gain a person entry into the eternal presence of God. They will not atone for the sins of one's own heart. These things are merely dry, dusty bones: a skeletal framework of what could be but is not without a heart for God to direct it.
Now is the time to give your heart to God. Today is the day to receive God's love and mercy and righteousness into your hearts and lives. We all live in Now Time. Tomorrow is Hope Time, time that is not promised. Today is not even promised. Some will not make it through today for one reason and another. Every breath we breathe, we breathe because God gives it to us.
Now Time is the time to become one in Christ as He is one in God His Father. Now Time is the time to answer God's call on your life to embrace His Word, His Love, His Grace. Now Time is right now, right this minute, this second, this (inhale) breath (exhale). Did you feel that? That was mercy, God giving us another breath.
Don't wait too long to take hold of the faith God wants to birth within you.
I pray those walls break down which you have built up within yourselves. I pray that your heart would be moldable by God in the potter's house. That you would receive Him into your hearts and glorify Him with your lives.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS by Wayne Watson
DAYS OF ELIJAH by Robin Mark
COME ALIVE (DRY BONES) by Lauren Daigle
IN CHRIST ALONE by Michael English
