Receive your due

Proverbs
I can see how the wicked only receive their due on earth, as is stated in Proverbs 11:31, but it's a little more difficult to understand the first part of the verse - that the righteous also receive their due on earth.

"If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!"

I always tend to think of the righteous having to wait for the afterlife to receive their reward - store up treasures in heaven, and all that.  There are other verses that suggest that righteous people are rewarded on earth, but that seems a little hit and miss.  Lots of godly people live really great lives, but there are a lot of godly people who have a lot of hardship!  What do they think about receiving their due on earth?

God, the blessed and only Ruler

1 Timothy 6:11-16
What an exhortation!
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen."
That last verse there about God living in unapproachable light, and no one seeing Him - it is yet another great reminder of how full of glory He is.

God will fight the battle

Key verses
Psalm 145:1-9 - I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.  Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.  One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.   They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.  They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.  They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.  The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

2 Chronicles
Jehoshaphat trusted in God, and God came through for him.  I read the story about Jehoshaphat defeating Moab and Ammon, described in 2 Chronicles chapter 20.  The people of Judah were wondering if they should attack Moab and Ammon, because these enemies were coming to their territory.  The people of Judah inquired of God, and the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel who told the people of Judah not to fear.  The Lord was with them.  They wouldn't even have to fight the battle, because the Lord would fight for them.  So they went out to the place where their enemies were, and there were all the dead bodies.  The Moabites and Ammonites had fought against the men from Mount Seir, and then they turned on themselves and everyone was slaughtered.  The people of Judah didn't have to do a thing!
When you go into a difficult situation, trust in God and rely on him to come through for you (if you are in the will of God), and you will meet with success!

As a side note - what a legacy!  Here is 2 Chronicles 2:20, commenting on Jehoram's reign as king of Judah.  "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.  He passed away, to no one's regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings."

Righteousness through faith

Philippians
 I have copied below a passage from today's reading in Philippians.  It is a powerful passage because of the strength of the language Paul uses to describe worldly accoutrements versus heavenly treasures.  It really puts life into perspective, for me.  Consider the verses below and just see what you can learn from them. 

Phil 3:7-11: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.


*I included verses 10 and 11 even though they are in tomorrow's reading simply because you can't stop at verse 9!

God works in us

Key verse
Luke 5:32 - [Jesus said,] "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Philippians
Phil 2:13 - "... for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Sort of stemming from yesterday's post on considering others better than ourselves, which is a hard thing to do, this verse brings some good news.  We aren't in it by ourselves!  Not that we can sit back and enjoy the ride, as we do have to bring 100% effort to the relationship, but what we lack, God brings.  So when we set our minds to following his purposes, He'll jump in and help us out!  That's awesome.

Subject ourselves to God

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:17-24 discusses how the Ephesians didn’t indulge in sensuality and earthly desires.  According to the Archaeological Study Bible, many ancient Greeks sought to ignore and not succumb to such desires; it was the height of mental maturity to refuse to indulge oneself.  This refusal of self, however, is not entirely possible on our own.  In Christ, though, we can be made new in the attitude of our minds.  In Christ, we can subject our desires to God’s will, and become righteous and holy.  So we don’t necessarily have to ignore what we want, but we have to give it to God so that what comes out is purified and righteous.

Life in Christ

Galatians
2:20-21 - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”


We are not saved by works, but through faith in Christ.

Righteousness, peace, and joy

Romans 14:17 - For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
This verse alone (though read in context) should be enough to keep the church from petty fights over how we 'do church'.  Unfortunately, we let ourselves get too caught up in the small things and end up completely missing out on what God was really establishing among us - an life of righteousness, peace, and joy! I want to take part in that!  So let's set our minds on things above and work toward this kingdom.

Breaking the Sabbath

Key verse
Romans 5:19 - For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.


Numbers/Matthew
I would have liked more information about the man who broke the Sabbath (see Numbers 15:32-36).  He was gathering wood on the Sabbath, and those who found him brought him to Moses and Aaron, and he was stoned to death outside the camp, on God's orders.  Was it because he didn't trust God to provide the wood after the Sabbath, or he hadn't thought of God's day the day before, so he was had to gather wood on the Sabbath?  The story doesn't offer many details, and I'm left hoping that God didn't just have him stoned out of an unintentional sin.  But here is where we have to go on faith that God is gracious and compassionate and has proven himself to be such time and again.
In some ways, it is easy to see how the Pharisees became so focused on the letter of the law (see Matthew 23:23).   Looking at stories like this one from Numbers could lead them to think that breaking the Sabbath by doing any work is completely out of the question, or else you'll suffer the consequences.  But Jesus had the right attitude - it's not the outward appearance, but what's going on in the heart that God really looks at, so that is what we must focus on.

A broken and contrite heart

Key verses
Matthew 22:21 - "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

Romans 3:21-24 - But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Psalms
Psalm 51 is another psalm that makes me read through it twice.  It is so comforting to see that even after grievous sin we can approach God, humble at heart, and know that he will respond in grace and mercy.  God's unfailing love and great compassion, shown through Jesus's death on the cross, will come through for us time and again, if we come with a broken spirit and contrite heart.

More righteous than the Pharisees

Matthew
Matthew 5:20 can be confusing unless one digs a little deeper.  The text says: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."  How can our righteousness surpass the Pharisees?  They're experts in following the law. 
The catch is, Christ came to fulfill the law (as mentioned just previously to verse 20).  We can't have a righteousness of our own just by following the law, because we can't keep the whole law.  Fortunately, through Christ, who has fulfilled the whole law, we can obtain righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees.  Faith alone will get us there, not any works that we could do ourselves.  Thus, through Christ, we can enter the kingdom of heaven!

Righteousness

Key verse
Ezekiel 34:31 - "You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God," declares the Sovereign Lord.

 Ezekiel 33 says that God will judge us for our own sins, which in some ways is a relief, and in others not.  We can't rest on the laurels of our ancestors, but neither will we be punished for something we didn't do.  Our own righteousness or the righteous acts of our forefathers won't get us anywhere, but God's grace is sufficient for each one of us, wherever we are.  Let's rest in that!


For another view on Ezekiel 33, and its parallel in chapter 18, check out this link (click here).