Title

It Is the Righteous Way

Scripture
Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
(Proverbs 10:6)
Devotional
Righteousness quite simply, is doing things right by God’s standards, not man’s. For man’s standards are, at best, wicked, and more than often prove to be the way of violence. They are not wicked and violent by man’s judgment, but they are by God’s. Isaiah says of man’s righteousness, “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”(1) Furthermore, the scriptures instruct us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”(2) There is only one righteous way, and that way is God’s way, found in His Word, the book we call the Bible.
When we operate by the Manufacturer’s Handbook we operate righteously. Therefore, let it guide you by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Listen to it with an ear tuned toward obedience. Weigh your thoughts and deeds by its words. Look to it for conscience sake and be blessed in doing so.

(1) Isaiah 64:6, (2) Proverbs 14:12
Text For The Day
Proverbs 10:6: Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
Thought For The Day
“Refusing to deal with our own potential for evil can make even our goodness dangerous.” Harold Bussell, Senior Pastor at El Montecito Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara, California, author of Unholy Devotion and By Hook or By Crook
 
Questions To Ponder
·         Can true righteousness be obtained outside of the realm of Christ?
·         How would you define it to someone who was outside the realm of Christ?
·         If asked, “are you righteous?” How would you respond? Consider 2 Corinthians 5:21. 
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  There are at least two realms of righteousness: the first is that of simply doing things right—the righteousness of good works. The second and truest is imparted righteousness—the righteousness received by grace through faith in Christ.
 
Referencing: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil,” Luke 6:45.
 
Applying: Be righteous in every realm. Practice, live, and be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.