Voluntarily Yielding Rights

"But we're not going to start demanding now what we've always had a perfect right to. Our decision all along has been to put up with anything rather than to get in the way or detract from the Message of Christ." - 1st Corinthians 9:12 (The Message Bible)

An article in The Consumerist¹ reports about a Walmart customer refusing to show his receipt because, by legal rights, he did not have to. We all have rights - Yes! Some are offered by our country of residence, still others are given to us by our creator.

But we who have given our lives (rights) to Christ have a bigger purpose - to bring honor to Christ and to further his kingdom.

There are times to voluntarily yield rights in a spirit of cooperation, love, and understanding. Knowing when is a matter of maturity and good judgment.

Sure, the guy at Walmart won the fight but in so doing he made everyone else wait, ruined the day of a nice man only trying to do his job and came across looking like a jerk for no good reason.

Sometimes there are higher principles to stand on.

- fritz

^{1 - "Calm Man Successfully Buys TV And Denies Walmart Receipt Checkers" by Ben Popkin, The Consumerist, March 7th 2011}

Righteousness After Restoration

"The LORD is my shepherd...He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake" - Psalm 23:1a, 3

It is only after his restoration of our soul that we can be lead in paths of righteousness.

His restoration makes us want to do the right thing and he, then, enables us to do so with his Holy Spirit - not as a precondition to be his but as the result of being his. This is his work, and he gets the glory for it.

Charles Wesley, Anglican Priest and brother to John Wesley who founded the Methodist Church, wrote in his hymn "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"

He breaks the power of cancelled sin
He sets the prisoner free
His blood can make the foulest clean
His blood availed for me

- fritz

Great deal - if you can do it!

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; - Deuteronomy 7:9

Some are up for the challenge - Keep the commandments, love God, and get God's blessing; and how some really try!

But law condemns for incomplete adherence. Have you ever wanted what someone else had? You haven't kept the 10^Th commandment, you failed the challenge! Have you ever worked on Saturday? You haven't kept the 4^Th commandment, you failed the challenge! Actually, are there any of God's commands you have done from your heart without some failure? Me neither!

There's no balance scale to see if more good is done than bad - laws, even our own, don't work that way. Example: Stop at five (5) traffic lights but run one (1); can you still get a ticket?

James puts it this way:

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker." - James 2:10-11

We can't even keep his commandments one generation, much less to a thousand!

So we have blown that deal! Our only hope is to find an alternative; fortunately there is one!¹

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. - 1st Timothy 1:15

- fritz

^{1 - Post from 09/23/2010 Alternate Righteousness}

Alternate Righteousness

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. - Psalm 32:1-2

For those who can't measure up in their own righteousness there is an alternative.

"Imputeth" literally means to "weave", to "fabricate", to regard as so - like when a large debt is owed but the owner decides to forgive the debt and regard it as paid; or like when a child draws a picture of "Mommy" and she considers it the prettiest picture in the world!

Abraham, described in the Bible as the father of all the faithful,¹ was actually a disobedient liar and a deadbeat dad but he found an alternative, imputed, righteousness.

God had told him, who had no legitimate children, his descendants would be as numerous as the stars² and that one of them would be the Messiah³ who would pay for his sins. Abraham believed God's word and God call him righteous. When Abraham asked God to prove it God took an oath. That was good enough for Abraham and good enough for God.

If Abraham found it so can we!

Those of us who just can't measure up can choose God's alternative. We can choose to believe God's word in spite of what we are told by others or what we have always thought. We can believe Jesus paid for our sins with his sacrifice. We can become an actual part of Christ's body, like my finger is part of mine, and legitimately claim that promised lineage of God's blessing.

"Those words ("God accepted Abraham's faith") were written not only for Abraham but also for us. God will accept us also because we believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Jesus was given to die for our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God." - Romans 4:23-25

What a wonderful opportunity!

- fritz


^{1 - Romans 4:11
2 - Genesis 15:5-6 and Romans
3 - John 8:56}

Clueless (in a good way)

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee?"- Matthew 25:37-39

The "righteous" in Jesus' parable were clueless, in a good way.

They didn't think their actions were particularly noteworthy or good, they weren't keeping score of deeds done and to whom, they weren't even self aware; they were simply acting from a heart of Love, being who they were made to be.

The Apostle Paul put it this way,

"yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; ... he that judgeth me is the Lord." - 1st Corinthians 4:3b, 4a, 4c

It is time to put down the score card and just live for Christ.

- fritz