BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing English Emagazine March 2020 | Page 7

within the bracket of the remnant, God wants you
to spruce up. How?
1. Righteousness:“The root of the righteous
cannot be moved” (Pro 12:3,12). Righteousness
means doing the right thing. Rigid adherence to
truth and facts pays. Self-discipline is choosing to
do what is right when you feel like doing what's
wrong. It's knowing you can, but deciding you
won't. Often we face conflicts in life, whether to do
this or that. For example: To pay and get a seat or
pray and wait for God's will. Which is right? If you
pay you wouldn't know whether it is God's will or
not. But if you take the other route you will know
for certain that you are in God's will. A family met
me after a Blesso and wanted counsel regarding
their daughter, whether to shift her from CBSE to
State Board, so that she could score high marks
(NEET was not introduced yet). I told them not to
do it, but decide never to pay for a seat so that
they will be sure of God's will. They did exactly
that. She got a seat in MBBS. November 2019
Jebilyn's picture was in the newspaper as the
best outgoing student! God honoured their faith
and His name was glorified. People's conscience
has become so blunt that nowadays many wrong
things are accepted as unavoidable. God will
always stand by the righteous (2 Chr 19:11c). No
matter how far down the wrong road you've gone,
it's never too late to turn around.
Read the following
strengthened in your faith:-
verses
and
be
“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will
sustain you; He will never let the righteous be
shaken” (Psa 55:22).
“The righteous are bold as a lion” (Pro 28:1).
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Mt 5:6).
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well. Therefore do no worry about
tomorrow” (Mt 6:33,34). Meditate on the word
“But.”
“For the grace of God has appeared that
offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say
'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to
live self-controlled, upright and godly lives… eager
to do what is good” (Tit 2 : 11,12). The grace of God
does not encourage us to sin but teaches self-
control.
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and ears are attentive to their prayers” (I Pe 3:12).
2. Holiness:“If the root is holy, so are the
branches” (Rom 11:16). Root is the hidden part,
our inward being. Jesus called the Pharisees as
hypocrites. Outside they appeared holy but
inside they were full of wickedness. They were like
white-washed tombs (Mt 23:27,28). Jesus
advised, “First clean the inside of the cup and dish,
and then the outside also will be clean” (v26).
Unsurprisingly we take all efforts to show
ourselves holy to the world. Even a prophet like
Samuel was carried away by the looks of Eliab.
God told him, “People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1
Sam 16:7). Let us concentrate on the area which
is important to God. Clean up your insides.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God” (Mt 5:8). The fig tree Jesus cursed withered
from the root. Why? It was putting up an outward
show (Mk 11:20). “These people honour Me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from Me,” says
God (Mt 15:8). That's why David prayed, “Search
me O God, and know my heart; try me and know
my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa 139 :
23,24). No wonder God was looking at his heart.
So the first step is to learn to speak the truth
to yourself. Don't cheat yourself. I hate to put on
weight. When I gain one kilo, I turn the pointer of
the weighing scale down by one kilo and feel
happy. What am I doing? I am telling a lie to
myself, I deceive myself. Honesty is speaking the
truth to others; integrity is speaking the truth to
yourself. “Lord, who may abide in Your
tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He
who … speaks the truth in his heart” (Psa 15: 1,2).
It does take a little practice, but you will soon get
the hang of it. We need to be ruthlessly honest
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