Celebrating Righteousness

I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.  Psalm 7:17

Last week was our anniversary week.  We've now been married for 36 years.  While I feel like my husband has always been part of my life, at the same time it doesn't seem possible that 36 years has passed.  They say, "Time flies when you are having fun," and I've been having a blast.

All throughout this amazing week I have marveled at God's generosity to me.  He has given me everything I will ever possibly need through Jesus, yet He keeps pouring more blessings on me so that they cannot be contained.  That is nice, because I must share then, or burst. 

We started our week visiting: Momma, my aunt, and one of my sisters and family.  Next we moved on to our traditional anniversary celebration in Branson.  While there, we received a surprise at nearly every turn. 
Once we were in a shop and one of the workers chose to talk to me.  She whispered in my ear that there were some candle holders on the counter that they had just reduced from $12.99 to $3.88.  I went to look at them and had an inspiration to use two of them in our bathrooms.  Talk about surprise savings!!  I believe my Father laid it on this lovely woman's heart to share that with me.  I received it as a gift from Him. 

The day of our anniversary we were surprised to be given a bottle of sparkling grape juice by the hotel owners.  They also placed a small refrigerator in our room to use all week.  What a nice surprise!  I thought I was going to have to give up my yogurt for the week, but now I was able to enjoy it!

There were several other events I could share with you, but suffice it to say, our God is FULL of surprises!!  When I read this verse this morning my heart sang His praises, for all He has done and all He is planning to do in our lives.  Then I read on and came across this verse: God, "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." II Corinthians 5:21

Jesus, perfect as a newborn babe and more so, took every sin that has and ever will occur and claimed it was Himself.  It was God crying out that He was taking the blame Himself for our sins.  It was as if He were saying, "Satan, I gave them freewill to choose, so I take responsibility and am paying the price."  I am sure this thrilled Satan, as he thought he had won a great victory.  However, in his great victory was utter defeat.  Jesus paid the price through death; "The wages of sin is death..." and brought eternal life through His resurrection from the dead; "but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 6:23

People are always crying out that God should take responsibility for all the wrongs in the world.  The absolute Truth is...HE DID!!

He didn't have to.  We chose to sin, He didn't force us to.  As a matter of fact, He gave us rules to live by that would keep us from it, IF we obeyed.  We chose disobedience.  He could have wiped us out and started over, or simply chose to forget us.  He chose to love us instead, chose to become sin for us in our place, chose to pay the penalty and chose to give us His life in exchange our ours if we will simply ask Him to do so.

So once again I look back at that first verse and I declare, "Lord, Your righteousness is so far greater than we can ever imagine.  Thank You for deciding it right and just to pay the price of sin for us.  We did not deserve it by any means, but You did it anyway out of love for a filthy, decaying, smelly, dying people like me.  Thank You for bathing me in Your own righteousness, because I had none of my own.  Help others see Your righteousness in me and desire it for themselves.  Grant me words of wisdom and actions of grace to draw others into Your loving embrace.  In Jesus' precious name!"