In Jeremiah chapter 23 FATHER spoke:
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Yĕhovah tsidqenuw)
There is no way in the world that I could be in right standing before the Throne of THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY based on HIS 613 commandments and statutes except by The Blood of Jesus Christ My Lord. We have all fallen short in this area and require an advocate Who is righteous and can stand before FATHER continually on our behalf. Without His eternal state of righteousness we would be destined to death and destruction.
Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Romans chapter 5:
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I am forever grateful of Jesus Christ’s obedience to the cross and FATHER’S expressed Love in raising Him from the dead to be our Example and our Advocate. One only has to look around to see the results of one man’s offense. The moral fiber of nations continues to spiral downward where a vacuum of believers exists. Schools were once a safe haven for children but no longer. Social media has replaced the family structure in many cases as defining morality or lack thereof. It is only by FATHER’S grace will a person’s life be turned around from the current state of lawlessness and humanistic thinking that has infiltrated society.
As we focus on righteousness and our Advocate, our priorities are established in walking according to “The Way” and we produce good fruit of righteousness. Jesus is the Branch of righteousness spoken of in Jeremiah. The purpose of a branch is to produce good fruit to be consumed thus promoting life. We are to likewise be a branch in the same manner as our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. In areas where we are lacking we must allow FATHER to prune away the dead, unproductive stems protruding out from our individual branch. As this pruning occurs, resources are redirected to life-giving stems which in turn produce the desired fruit of righteousness.
Who but FATHER could determine what righteousness is? HIS Law of Love is the ultimate determinant of righteousness so as we comprehend what HIS Love is and isn’t, we are able to correct our ways toward others. Jesus’ words and actions are the perfect examples of how to measure our own words and conduct. Our thought life must be scrutinized as well since our actions originate from our thoughts. As we dwell on HIS Word our thoughts become established in a righteous manner. What we dwell on will eventually manifest in our actions… good or bad.
FATHER knows the challenges facing us and has provided the means to redeem us from the wrong path and it starts at the cross. HIS redemptive nature is expressed so eloquently by HIS Son’s willingness to bear the cross on our behalf. What greater Love can be express than Jesus’ willingness to die on the cross and FATHER’S willingness to allow HIS Son to suffer in this manner. We must never allow ourselves to forget the importance of this act of Love.