Archive for the 'Devotional Notes' Category

“He believed in Evolution, and God credited to him as righteousness”

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Okay, this isn’t exactly a verse in the bible, but I wanted to get your attention.

As I’ve been doing my word study on righteousness, thoughts naturally gravitate back to Evolution, Creationism, and Geocreationism. I’ve been reading this great book which I cannot find in my morning haze, but it advances the common argument that God’s testimony is in scripture and in science.  In other words, what we discover about the world, is knowledge that God wants us to have… and why wouldn’t He?  I mean, anything we learn about Him, whether it be how He saved us from our sins, or created the world in which live, is more knowledge about Him and His love for us.  Why wouldn’t I want …

Why Knowledge Does Not Yield Righteousness

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Reading Elihu’s speech in Job 37, it struck me that it was immediately followed by Job 38, which contains one of the Creation stories in the Bible that is consistent with both the ancient pagan creation myths, and paradoxically modern science.  You can read more about The Creation Account in Job.

What struck me is the contrast between how Elihu attempts to challenge Job with Creation, versus how God does, and how that applies to today.
Job 37 

 14 “Listen to this, Job;
       stop and consider God’s wonders.

 15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
       and makes his lightning flash?

 16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
       those wonders of him who is …

When does God Ignore Righteousness? When it is Self-righteousness!

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Job 35
 1 Then Elihu said:

 2 “Do you think this is just?
       You say, ‘I will be cleared by God. [a] ‘

 3 Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, [b]
       and what do I gain by not sinning?’

 4 “I would like to reply to you
       and to your friends with you.

 5 Look up at the heavens and see;
       gaze at the clouds so high above you.

 6 If you sin, how does that affect him?
       If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

 7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
       or …

Righteousness as Clothing

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Job 29:14
I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

Wow.  I usually treat verses like this like a Christian cliche (how convicting).  Having been meditating on “righteousness” verses for almost a month now, this verse has a different impact now.  In need to “wear” righteousness.  And interestingly, just like Sheba paired up righteousness with justice, so does Job.  Hmmmm… to truly, internally, understand righteousness, I may need to do a word study on “justice” next.  Well, anyways…

In order to wear righteousness, it dawns on me that I have embrace every aspect that I’ve discovered so far. They are…

Believe the Lord and it will be credited to me as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
Obey …

Maintaining Rightouesness

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

1 Kings 10:9
Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
1 Kings 10:8-10 (in Context) 1 Kings 10 (Whole Chapter)

2 Chronicles 9:8
Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
2 Chronicles 9:7-9 (in Context) 2 …

Righteousness will Make you a Light for Others

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

2 Samuel 23:1-7 (New International Version)
The Last Words of David
 1 These are the last words of David:
       “The oracle of David son of Jesse,
       the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High,
       the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
       Israel’s singer of songs [a] :
 2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me;
       his word was on my tongue.

 3 The God of Israel spoke,
       the Rock of Israel said to me:
       ‘When one rules over men in righteousness,
       when he rules in the fear of God,

 4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise
       on a cloudless morning,
       like the …

Righteousness is Spiritual

Monday, January 19th, 2009

2 Samuel 23:1-7 (New International Version)
The Last Words of David
 1 These are the last words of David:
       “The oracle of David son of Jesse,
       the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High,
       the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
       Israel’s singer of songs [a] :
 2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me;
       his word was on my tongue.

 3 The God of Israel spoke,
       the Rock of Israel said to me:
       ‘When one rules over men in righteousness,
       when he rules in the fear of God,

 4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise
       on a cloudless morning,
       like the …

The Balance Sheet of Righteousness

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Deuteronomy 33:19
They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand.”
Deuteronomy 33:18-20 (in Context) Deuteronomy 33 (Whole Chapter)

This is an interesting verse on righteousness.  When I first read it, I had a clear “feeling” of what “sacrifices of righteousness” meant, but defining it “in words” was more difficult.

Deuteronomy 33:18-19 (New International Version)
   

 18 About Zebulun he said:
       “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
       and you, Issachar, in your tents.

 19 They will summon peoples to the mountain
       and there offer sacrifices of righteousness;
       they will feast …

Evolution as Proof that Earth is Righteous

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Jesus told us that without man to bear witness of God, the very rocks would cry out.  I believe they do, through the evidence for Evolution.  Rocks indeed.  For if Evolution happened, then it was according to God’s plan, design, and will; the earth apparently believed God where many of us today do not… and the earth obeyed.

Righteousness - Our Response to God’s Commitments

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

When I was writing about the order of God’s promises and your acceptance of them yesterday, I wasn’t talking about salvation specifically, though I had it in mind.  So, I need to clarify something… the fact that not everyone goes to Heaven.  Now, in my examples above, take Saul for example, I implied that God made a promise to him… I was really talking about the commitments that God makes.  A commitment is a promise, but not all promises all for salvation.  But where the promise is salvation, the logic applies.  So, when I was talking about “promises” made to people who don’t believe, how does that apply to those who won’t be saved?

Well once again, I am talking about …