Day 4 - June 14, 2011

Today I would like to start looking at the concept of Choice...

Choices have consequences, and sometimes small seemingly insignificant choices have huge consequences.

Take the old adage, Only YOU can prevent forest fires. According to http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/index.php as of June 14, 2011, year-to-date there are 32,320 wildfires in the US alone affecting 4,252,286 Acres. Another way to put it is that so far this year an area roughly the size of New Jersey has completely burned from wildfires.

We all know the devastation that occurs when a fire gets out of control, and we also know that a forest fire starts from a small spark. The adage, Only YOU can prevent forest fires, alludes to the fact that our actions may seem insignificant but can make a huge impact not only in your own life but also in the life of others.

James 3:5

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

In the same way, only YOU can Choose Righteousness. The Lord in His wisdom gave us the awesome responsibility to choose. We must choose wisely, because our choices have eternal consequences. We can either choose righteousness or un-righteousness. We can choose to do Good or to do Evil. It really is that simple. However, please allow me to complicate the simplicity of the previous statements. We can never do enough good to be righteousness. We are called by God to choose righteousness, to pursue righteousness, but we can only be credited with righteousness through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, for those that believe that righteousness is not important, or that we can go on sinning, relying on God's Grace to cover a multitude of wrongs. I would say that you are playing with fire, you see Jesus as your fire fighter, so you think that you can sit on a mountain of kindling and play with matches. Do you think that you can mock God, do you think that you can play with fire and God will not allow you to get burned to teach you a lesson. God promises to teach us lessons through trails, He loves us enough to discipline us.

Mark 9:43

New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Please be honest with yourselves and know that what we do matters. Think of this paradigm, no choice, or doing nothing at all, is actually a choice.

Joshua 24:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Some of you may have seen the diagram below. Or experienced it in you lives.

Ok you can only choose two, clever. The reality in life is that you can only choose ONE. Here is one example:

Luke 16:13

New International Version (NIV)

   ¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

So in this example there are two choices however there is only one correct choice. Here is a second example:

It is still unfathomable to me that some people believe that there is a choice when it comes to the life of an unborn child. But, for argument sake, parents have two choices when it comes to the life of their child, and clearly there is only ONE correct choice. I Choose LIFE! In fact, we should all call our parents right now and thank them for making the right choice. 


Sometimes we just need to put our choices in the right context to evaluate the real consequences. 


I recently heard a story from a doctor who shared this true story. A mother with a 9 month old child found out that she was pregnant. She went to her doctor and explained that the pregnancy came as a shock and she does not want her children so close in age. Her solution was simple, just terminate the pregnancy. The doctor listened to his patient and responded in this way. Why don't you bring in your 9 month old and we can terminate their life so that you won't have two children so close in age. The mother was mortified and with a moral indignation exclaimed that's just wrong. The doctor then made his follow up point that what she was proposing was the exact same thing. Thankfully, the mother chose to keep the baby. 


Choices made today effect who we will become in the future. Each new day is a blessing from God because we have the opportunity to turn it all around for the good. Choose wisely my friends. 

Acts 14:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

Day 3 - June 8, 2011

What is righteousness? Or more specifically what is the definition of righteousness? Now I must preface this post with the statement that Righteousness is not something that I fully understand. To some extend I grasp the concept of rightousness but I admit I have a lot to learn. Nor have I modeled righteousness very well either. It's like the idea of Perfection, I grasp the concept but I am far, very far, from perfect. With that said, let's get started.

Merrium-Webster defines Righteousness as acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin. First of all, let's look at the part of speech, I would have guessed an action verb, but no it is an adjective, and yes this is a run-on sentence. Righteousness is a state of being, a description, a virtue, an attribute that describes how one acts. A person can be described as having righteousness if they are acting in accordance with a divine or moral law, or if they are free from guilt or sin. 

Romans 4:3

New International Version (NIV)

³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”


What is a divine or moral law? Ok, where do I begin? Umm, the bible, God's inspired word, God's divine and moral law. That was easy. Just kidding, here it goes. Take for instance the current laws we have in this country. Would acting in accordance with the laws of this country, or any country for that matter, be considered acts of righteousness? Hmmm, how do I put this politely, NO! Obeying the laws of this land constitutes the bare minimum needed to have a functioning society. Even though, in America, the framers of our constitution based it on principles found in the bible, our laws today that stem from the constitution cannot begin to be considered divine or moral. The point is that the emphasis must be on the divine and moral aspect of the Law.  As Christians, our Ultimate authority is God's law. In Exodus 20, God gave the Isrealites the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1-20

New International Version (NIV)

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

 ¹ And God spoke all these words: ² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
 ³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.
 ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
 ⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
 ⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
 ¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
 ¹³ “You shall not murder.
 ¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.
 ¹⁵ “You shall not steal.
 ¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
 ¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
 ¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
 ²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”


Then Jesus came and expanded upon these principles to help us further understand God's Law, and the need to obey it...

Matthew 5:17-20

New International Version (NIV)

The Fulfillment of the Law

    ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ 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.


Hopefully, this introduction to the definition of rightousness was enough to start you on the journey of searching for more meaning.  My prayer is that this discussion will lead us to a point that we will understant a little bit more about what righteousness is, how much we need it, and how to pursue it.

Day 2 - June 7, 2011

Here is a question, why is the lottery so appealing? It doesn't appeal to me because the few times I played I did not win. But my guess is that the risk vs. reward ratio is so disproportionate many will play the odds, or the risk is so small compared to the hope of a huge payoff I will ignore the odds. Now about the odds of winning, your chances are 1 in 195,711,536, or to put it another way you are 6-45 times more likely to die of a lightning strike (some years are more lightening prone) than of winning the lottery. Still, in the US alone, it has been estimated that in the year 2010 over $58 Billion was spent on lottery tickets, by more than 45% of the American population. Therefore, if the U.S. Populations is say 300,000,000 then 45% of them would be approximately 135,000,000. If you divide the $58 Billion spent by 135,000,000 people you would get an annual expenditure of $430/person on lottery tickets. I admit that there are some gross generalizations in these calculations, but the point is that a lot of people spend a lot of money on the lottery.

The reason that I bring up the lottery is because many in our society would like the reward without putting in the effort. I want to put in a dollars worth of effort and reap millions in rewards. That why people play right? In the case of the lottery, it would be much more effective to apply yourself, work hard, and earn your money the old fashioned way (the biblical way), than to waste your money. This principle is true in the case of economics, but it is also true as it relates to salvation.  Salvation being defined as deliverance from the power and affects of sin, and as Christians being restored from our acts of sin to a state of righteousness through grace and given the gift of eternal life in heaven.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

New International Version (NIV)

The Need for Self-Discipline

 ²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.


There are many people who want to receive the prize, but have no intention of competing in the race. We all know the simple fact that in order to win, we must train, we must work, we must compete. How much more so, as Christians must we participate, must we obey, must we choose righteousness, in order to receive the prize. For me the prize is heaven, an eternity with my Father in heaven, a crown that will last forever.

On Day 1 I shared Matthew 6:33.

Matthew 6:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I have taken this passage out of context for many years. Matthew 6:33 commands us to "seek first his kingdom AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS..." I have focused on going to heaven so much so that I have neglected to actively seek first his righteousness. That is the basis for this discussion, choosing righteousness, pursuing righteousness, not just heaven.

Romans 6:13

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

I know this is a bold statement, but if we think that we can go to heaven while completely neglecting God's call to righteousness, it is the same as a man betting a dollar on the lottery, or a man watching a race from the sidelines hoping to win the prize! I don't know about you but I do not like those odds. I would much rather live according to God's word, the bible, and base my hope of receiving the prize on God's great and precious promises also found in His word. Tomorrow, the discussion will cover more on what righteousness is.

Day 1. What is Righteousness? Why pursue it? Does it matter? How does one pursue it? I'm starting a journey and would like to document it in some way, a public way. As I shared this pursuit with my wife she suggested that I blog. Upon further research I learned two things, one blogging is pretty easy and straight foreword, and two she (my wife) has become quite computer savvy. So here it goes, one day at a time, sharing this process of choosing righteousness. 


Please allow me to start off by sharing a little about myself. I am married with two young children (girl 3, boy 1). I am an engineer with a type "A" personality to match, which loosely translated means that I am a nerd whose attempt at humor is often misunderstood. I am a flawed human being who is attempting daily to turn to God and be more and more Christ like. Therefore, in my daily effort to be more Christ like, you could call me a Christian (Defined as a person who believes in Jesus Christ and follows his teachings). Although, as it relates to my wife and kids, I have struggled with what it means to lead them to be more like Jesus, to follow his teachings, and to model the example of Jesus to my family and others. In many ways I have failed, and I desperately want to correct my past wrongs and make the necessary corrections for the future. It has been easy for me to blame the failings of "religion" for what is going on in my life, but that did me no good. There is no perfect church as long as the churches are made up of imperfect people, myself being one of them. The truth of the matter is that my personal failings are the greatest hindrance to the relationship I desire with God. Therefore, to have the relationship that I desire with God, I must take responsibility for my own choices and make a daily decision to Choose righteousness! 

Matthew 6:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.



More on what it means to Choose Righteousness to come...