Righteousness is not found in checking off the boxes of the fruit of the Spirit. It is found in a state of being where love pours out of you and the fruit of the Spirit grows on its own. It is found in the simplicity of the gospel, knowing that Christ died to give you His righteousness, that once you say “yes” to Jesus, you have the ability to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and “have the mind of Christ.” It is a matter of believing. The more you believe that you are righteous through Christ, the more you become the righteousness of Christ. The more you believe that you are holy, the more you become set apart and dedicated for Christ. The more you believe you are His beloved, the more you become love and walk in love and the Spirit.
“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (ESV)
His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It is not our righteous deeds, but His own blood that continually cleanses us from unrighteousness as He daily renews and conforms us to His image and likeness. We are His precious children and the more time we spend with Him, the more we start to imitate Him and become “imitators of God.” We stop believing in our own abilities and our own strength and start trusting in God and His strength.
“But he answered me, ‘My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.’ So, I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak, I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me. So, I’m not defeated by my weakness, but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment—when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ—I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power.” 2 Corinthians 12-9, 10 (TPT)
I have come to find that some of my greatest weaknesses are starting to become some of my greatest strengths. My Abba has taken someone who was anxiety-ridden, fearful of the world and the future, fearful of being sober into someone who is learning to walk in a boldness I could only dream of. Jesus has transformed me from being a pitiful person into a powerful person. I am not where I want to be but I’m also not where I was.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lied ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, 14 (ESV)
The devil has been constantly trying to kill my confidence and making me second guess myself and the right standing that I have with God. The other day, I was tempted to go back to my old ways with someone I have known for almost 20 years. They are still stuck in that lifestyle, and they wanted to bring me down with them. I genuinely care for and love them and wanted to show them the light of Jesus, but they didn’t want to hear it. They were trying to get me to do drugs and other things, but I refused and it brought on a confidence that I’ve never felt before. It let me know that the reverential fear of the Lord can help me to abstain from anything that is no longer suiting me.
But Christ established me in righteousness, and I will not go back to that lifestyle, no matter how tempting the high is. There is nothing good about that life. It is full of every kind of evil. I will continue to pray for that individual and Christ told me that He will bring this person to know Christ as his Lord and Savior. I know God will keep His word as long as I walk in His ways.
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—” Ephesians 4:18-20
No one is too far gone. Everyone has the opportunity to experience and know eternal life. If you know anyone who is deep in darkness, deep in drugs, or deep in anything that is not of God, don’t stop praying for them. It is about pursuing righteousness and knowing that people are not the enemy. It’s the demons living inside of them feeding off their trauma that is the enemy. It is the righteous thing to do to pray for the wicked, especially our friends and family, in the hope that one day God will get a hold of them and turn them into His righteous, adopted children.
Rise Of The Pheonix 