7 Reasons For Righteous Living Today, By A.K. Okuneye

Welcome to A Moment In His Presence, where we explore the Word for the benefit of every child of God, with appetite for pure and undiluted themes from the throne of Grace. Our watch Word for today's exposition is Acts 5:3-4:

★ But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?  

★ Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 

As we prayerfully navigate the remaining days and weeks of this year, I encourage you to tread with caution, as unrighteousness lurks around seeking victims like Ananias and his wife to swallow. 

Unknown to many children of God, righteousness is a weapon of warfare engagement in the hands of true believers, while unrighteousness is a potent weapon of the enemy, targeted at unsuspecting false believers.

God is love, motivated by his unblemish love for you, because he does not want you to end like Ananias and Sapphire his wife, who became casualties of unrighteousness, he deems it most relevant to call you back into a lifestyle of complete righteousness and its attendant benefits.

Beloved, once again I urge you to tread with caution and wisdom, as you navigate the remaining days and weeks in this year, inorder to escape the end of the year slaughter on the altar of unrighteousness. 

People are perishing daily on the altar of unrighteousness, because multitudes are attracted to the broadway that leads to destruction. Indeed, it is a global phenomenon where anything goes, but destruction remains the ultimate prize therein. If Ananias and his wife Sapphire had the benefit of such teachings as these, they could have taken advantage of them, to avert the inglorious exit from the world.

The counsel in the gospel of Matthew 7:13 is most relevant here:

★ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

The broadway is a mega expressway of unrighteousness, where carelessness and ignorance seem acceptable, appropriate, modern and liberal. However, the casualties thereon are huge and alarming, it represents the costly price of unrighteousness, as indicated in Proverbs 16:25:

★ There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Appreciable percentage of present day believers regard the theme of Righteousness as archaic, ancient, expired and irrelevant to modern civilization and existing realities. Nevertheless, these teachings highlight the relevance and power of righteousness for all generations.

Definition Of Righteousness:

1) An inherent quality of God

2) The act of standing right with God 

3) Purity of heart 

4) Untainted hands

5) Avoidance of ungodliness

6) Holiness

7) Total commitment to God

Ananias and his wife Sapphire, like many today, were not embodiments of the above characteristics, that was why they approached God with filthy hearts and unclean hands at their peril. 

7 Reasons To Embrace Righteousness:

1. Attraction of Comfort and Prosperity. Righteousness attracts comfort and prosperity to a life, while unrighteousness eliminates them. According to the Psalmist, in Psalm 1:1-3: ★ The righteous shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth fruits in its season, its leaves shall not wither and whatsoever he does shall prosper. 

2. Attraction of Divine Favor. Righteousness adds favor from God to a life, while unrighteousness hinders it.

In Proverbs 12:2:

★ A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 

3. Attraction of fruitfulness. Fruitfulness is an expression of dominion and righteousness adds it to a life, while unrighteousness breeds hardship. In Proverbs 14:11:

★ The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. 

4. Attraction of Peace. Righteousness adds peace to a life beyond human understanding, while unrighteousness eliminates it. In Proverbs 16:7:

★ When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

5. Attraction of Promotion. Righteousness magnetizes a life to promotion, it exalts a nation or a person. In 1 Samuel 16:11: 

★ And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, there remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

Righteousness qualified David as a man after God's heart, what a great testimony!  

6. Attraction of Boldness. The unrighteous is always terrified by his own shadows, while the righteous is confident and fearless at all seasons. In Proverbs 28:1:

★The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 

7. Adds Value To Prayers. Unrighteousness devalues the potency of your prayers, it makes them objects of mockery and ridicules by demons. Righteousness empowers your prayers, it adds unchallengeable 🔥 fire that eliminates demons and their works to them. In James 5:16, it is written inter alia: 

★ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 

Finally, regardless of prevailing vogues of civilization and modernity, relegating righteousness in the scheme of relevant and acceptable biblical themes, God remains a righteous Father from generations to generations, for this reason all his true children are enjoined to walk with him in genuine righteousness. 

Without holiness, no person can see the lord.

Prayer Points: 

1. Seeds of unrighteousness in my life, your time is up, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.

2. Appetite for worldliness in my life, enough is enough, expire now, in the name of Jesus.

3. Plantation of ungodliness in the garden of my life, be uprooted by 🔥 fire, in the name of Jesus. 

4. O Lord, break and remould me in your image of righteousness, in the name of Jesus.

5. Voice of flesh calling me into fellowship with the world, be silent by 🔥 fire, in the name of Jesus.

6. Blood of Jesus, purge me of every unrighteousness, in the name of Jesus. 

7. My father, clothe me with garment of righteousness, in the name of Jesus. 

8. Altar of unrighteousness, I am not your sacrifice, catch 🔥 fire, in the name of Jesus. 

9. My life, hear the Word of the lord, you shall not end up like Ananias and Sapphire, in the name of Jesus.

10. Anything in my life, killing appetite for righteousness, enough is enough, die by 🔥 fire, in the name of Jesus. 

11. From today, I depart from the Broadway into the narrow Way, in the name of Jesus. 

12. This year, I shall not be a casualty of unrighteousness, in the name of Jesus. 

13. My father, I thank you for always answering my prayers, in the name of Jesus.

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Surely, Goodness And Mercy Shall Abide With You Always in Jesus name.

Shalom!