Sunday, July 4, 2010

July 4, 2010

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." Proverbs 14:34

I want you to think about something.

How much do you owe to the righteousness of other people? How has your life been enriched because other people chose to obey God and live righteously?

It is hard to measure, but let me drop a few names: Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Job, Daniel, Mary, John the Baptist, and the Disciples - and most of all, Jesus! These righteous and faithful people have touched your life.

Each of these people answered the call of God to tackle a task He had in mind for them to accomplish. Every one of these I mentioned obeyed God and trusted Him to enable them to accomplish. God worked through them to accomplish His desired will.

These Bible heroes allowed God to work through them because they chose to do the right things.
As God's Kingdom came and as His will was done through them, you benefited.

What if these great people had chosen to do like you often do - waited for someone else to do the right thing? Where would you be today?

Think about the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. They took a tremendous risk when they pledged to each other their "lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" believing that fighting for their freedom was the right thing for them. What if they would have decided to sit and wait for someone else to do it? I doubt if we would be celebrating Independence Day.

Righteousness exalts those who do the right thing. Not those who wait for others to do it! Righteousness delayed is a sin known as disobedience!