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-Righteousness-

In Psalm 89:14, Ethan the Ezrahite says righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. If you really meditate on this verse, you realize that this was no simple statement. As you probably know already, the foundation is the most important part of a structure whether we’re talking about a skyscraper or a LEGO®️ building. If the foundation of a structure is weak or made of the wrong materials, the rest of the building is irrelevant no matter how beautiful it may be, because eventually it will fall to ruins. It’s like having beautiful white teeth only to find out from the dentist that your mouth is full of cavities. Since the foundation of the throne of the King of Kings is righteousness and justice, how much more should we live by this Holy standard as the foundation of our hearts? Righteousness is to do right by people; typically, those who are impoverished, vulnerable and outcasts of society, and especially those who can’t do a thing for you in return. One of my favorite Psalm is 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.” This verse reinforces the fact that unless God is at the core of it, everything we do will eventually fail or be soon forgotten with no impact in this life or eternity. Our foundation has to be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whom we put all our faith and trust in. Because when the storms come and attack us physically and spiritually, God alone is the one who will keep us secure and in His perfect peace. As David so truly wrote, “God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). Like the many other divine characteristics of God, righteousness also doesn’t just somehow become one’s foundation or standard of living. It has to be established through God’s living word. My good friend, the Reverend Dr. Charlie Dates, once told me that, “the Gospel is the only message that cures the problems it diagnoses.” That’s why in order to reflect God's character, we have to dive seriously into His transformative Word; because there are only two things that last forever and that’s the soul of man and the Word of God (Matthew 24:35). 

*Self-assessment: 

Are you spending intentional time with your Creator? Are you reading God’s Word to find wisdom and deep biblical truth to apply to your life, or just reading it to put a check mark by it on your list of things to do? Do you feel stagnant, or that your character isn’t being transformed to mirror God’s? It’s probably time for a Gospel prescription!