CLEAN UP (Part 3)… Pursue Righteousness & Faith
Apostle Paul gave Timothy 2 major requirements in that scripture we looked at (See day 5). He was admonished to flee and then to pursue (2 Timothy 2:22). It is not enough to flee from something, you must also pursue after something because whatever you flee from must be replaced. In 1 Timothy 6:11, Timothy was told there also to run from certain things and pursue righteousness and a godly
life, among other things. Pursue means to go after something hard; it means an unrelenting chase. And he said when you remove your eyes from youthful desires, go hard after righteousness, faith, love and peace. Let's look at the first two.
Righteousness: Righteousness has been defined as being in right standing with God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that once we become born again, we have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Once you believe with your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, your salvation is secure (Romans 10:9). However, it is needful to still pursue righteousness in order to promote growth in our Christian journey. I consider chasing after righteousness to mean chasing after God’s nature, desiring holiness more than any fleshly indulgence out there. Righteousness is one of God’s most prominent attributes (Psalm 145:17) and we can only begin to exhibit His nature when we wholeheartedly chase after it. How?
In Colossians 3, Paul states that once we put on the nature of Christ, we must consciously ‘put to death’ certain traits that are contrary to God’s nature such as anger, abusive language, malice, etc. Such traits are contrary to righteousness; for example, James 1:20 tells us that human anger does not produce the righteousness of God. I’m sure you know that anger or hot temperedness is a MAJOR problem in many relationships and marriages. In fact, most of the traits he lists in that chapter are rampant in many families. So as a single lady or gentleman, you must work on pruning away traits that do not demonstrate the nature of God in you.
Most husbands and wives make the universal phrase of “that’s how I am; accept me like that” but I have to tell you that’s unacceptable. As Christians, our goal should always be to become better from the inside out. Remember, the scripture says you must thoroughly purge yourself (See Day 5). God doesn't want to leave us the same way He met us; the desire to please Him should always be our goal. It's true that we can’t do this in the energy of the flesh, that is why the Holy Spirit is there to empower us; and we’ll look at the place of the Holy Spirit further in this series.
Faith: I often like to say that as believers, everything rises and falls on faith. This is the summary of our Christian journey, isn’t it? It’s all about faith. Pursuing faith is also about growing in faith because faith is in levels. Faith is a non-negotiable factor in your walk with God, and many situations will come to test the faith you claim to have. I often like to say that the testing of faith usually multiplies in marriage, so you cannot afford to relax. You must consciously keep growing.
My husband often says that your faith is what really determines the direction of your life, and God can do nothing without your faith. It is what gives us the assurance about things we cannot yet see but we believe will happen (Hebrews 11:1). It’s important that you strive not just to have faith, but also to keep increasing and developing it in order to overcome the challenges of life now in your single season, and ultimately in your marriage.
So, righteousness & faith; keep chasing after these two on your journey to 'I Do'. Both are non-negotiable if you desire to become and remain a useful tool in God's hands - Kemi Oyedepo
source: CPY Family
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