Tag: #2Corinthians5:21

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Faithful Decisions – Part 1

To make faithful decisions is to make right decisions—decisions that are righteous in the eyes of God. 

“As for God, his way is perfect, says 2 Samuel 22:31 NIV, The Lord’s word is flawless…”

He sets the standard of righteousness, and He credits our active faith (obedience) as righteousness (Ge 15:6, Ro 4:9, De 6:25).

So, we are to “walk in the way of that faith,” dependent on God’s truth as we make right decisions (Ro 4:12 AMPC).

Why is this so important?

Because to bring honor to God and be victorious in the Promised Land, we must know His instructions and agree with them. We must sync with Him in life-union to sustain His flow of true life through us, as we progress and complete divine assignments with Him (2 Co 5:21).

2 Samuel 22:26 NIV tells us that “To the faithful,” God shows Himself “faithful.”

“If you choose to follow good counsel, divine design will watch over you and understanding will protect you from making poor choices” (Pr 2:11 TPT).

Keep in mind that, in the Promised Land, God gave Joshua a new strategy for each battle. Joshua and his army were protected as they overtook enemies to expand their territory only because they faithfully hearkened to God’s instructions.

Of course, Moses’ mentorship helped. 

Romans 10:8 TPT says, “But the faith-righteousness we receive speaks to us in these words of Moses: ‘God’s living message is very close to you, as close as your own heart beating in your chest and as near as the tongue in your mouth.’”

Sometimes, the most righteous and life-sustaining thing we can do is lay down our self-righteousness, including our self-justification of our ways, and trust God enough to pray according to His will, so He will hear our prayers (1 Jn 5:14).

We need His grace to work on our behalf. Therefore, we must come out of self-reliance and into God-dependence. We must also remember that God’s perfect justice constantly works on our behalf. 

This perfect justice is described in Romans 3:25 TPT, which says, “the perfect demonstration of God’s justice” is “faith in the sacred blood of Jesus.”

So, before we step onto the Promised Land battlefields, we may want to survey our hearts and ask whether our faith is in Him or in ourselves. We may even want to ask Him to search our hearts. 

Remember that Caleb, who fought alongside Joshua, was wholehearted.

As we continue to believe God’s truth and abide in Him, we will come to know our Lord as the God of the Mountaintop, victorious in new ways to us.

Psalm 31:19 NIV tells us that abiding with Him in our decisions is where we find God’s abundance of good things.

So, we can intentionally choose to receive the abundance of Christ by aligning with Him as Lord of our lives.

Psalm 72:7 TPT assures us that “In the days of his reign the righteous will spring forth with the abundance of peace and prosperity forevermore.”

God will even reward our faithfulness.

Psalm 37:6 NIV says, “He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”

His grace of salvation for us includes the righteousness of vindication and working out that salvation in us and through us to reflect His brightness (Is 62:1).

So, friends, we can be encouraged that, by His grace, all the restoration God did in us up until now will lead to outward manifestations of significant purpose. Therefore, let’s make decisions that are right in God’s eyes to see them produce good fruit. 

Others are depending on us. So, let’s not disappoint them—not the ones in the great cloud of witnesses, who have gone before us and are watching; not those who are still living on earth and waiting; and not the future generations to come. 

Ephesians 3:20 TPT reminds us to “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.”

So, friends, from the Word of The Lord, I declare over you: 

“Open the gates and let a righteous, faith-filled people enter in” (Is 26:2 TPT).

“May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness” (Psalms 72:3 NIV).

“Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name” (Ps 97:12 NKJV).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen. 

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Biblical Self-Love by Guest Writer Barbara Latta

Friends, we live in a world where self-love is perpetuated in various forms of media. We may feel pressured to live up to other people’s expectations or accomplishments as the world around us attempts to define us.

Social media, entertainment, and peer pressure can determine our view of life if we allow these attitudes to penetrate our minds. 

If we use the measuring stick of comparison.

Voices such as “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t measure up,” or “I never do anything right” have often tormented my thoughts. 

But The Lord revealed to me through His Word that when we view other people through the rose-colored glasses of perfection while examining ourselves through a microscope that magnifies every fault, we are not behaving wisely. 

“We do not have the audacity to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with some who [supply testimonials to] commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they lack wisdom and behave like fools” (2 Co 10:12 AMP).

Beloved friends, when we focus on self to the point of comparing our lives with another person, we are saying we want to become like they are. 

The world’s method of personal improvement conveys selfishness, because the goal is to make oneself better so others will approve. 

God wants us to respect ourselves, but we should use His guidelines and not societal and cultural attitudes. When we learn to regard ourselves biblically, we also receive the ability to accept others in an unselfish way. 

The Almighty doesn’t compare us to other people. So why should we? Why would we place life’s value on another fallen soul’s standards when we have our heavenly Father’s perfect eyes that see us through the lens of the blood of Jesus? 

We are each unique and created with a plan from our Creator. When we live in an unworthy mindset, we do not regard the power of the sacrifice of Christ.

Jesus gave us an inheritance. The gifts He put inside us are for us to use to expand His kingdom and do His works. But we can’t do this if our thoughts are on defeat and unworthiness.

We also don’t want to allow our past to define us. Our Lord tells us He has restored the years the locust has eaten (Jl 2:25). That old life is gone, and our present life and future are bright and victorious through Christ. 

“By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world” (1 Jn 4:17). 

In this world, we are as He says we are. 

The reflection of a mirror shows us what we need to know about our appearance. We find out if our hair is combed or if our clothes are straight. 

Likewise, The Bible shows us God’s viewpoint. We can look through His mirror, which is His Word. This living letter reflects who we are in Christ when we have been born again. 

We are not who the world says we are. We are not who a confused mind tells us we are. We are not our past. We are who our Father says we are. We love the person He made us to be by agreeing with what His Word says.

So, here are five points to consider:

God sees us as righteous: “For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him” (2 Co 5:21TPT).

God sees us as holy: “For He delivered us and saved us and called us with a holy calling [a calling that leads to a consecrated life—a life set apart—a life of purpose]” (2 Ti 1:9a AMP).

God sees us as His children: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 Jn 3:1 NKJV).

God sees us as pure: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 Jn 3:3 NKJV).

God sees us as heirs: “So as a gift of his love, and since we are faultless—innocent before his face—we can now become heirs of all things, all because of an overflowing hope of eternal life” (Ti 3:7 TPT). 

Precious sisters, when the King of the universe elevates us to queenly status, what other opinion matters? The One who was willing to sacrifice Himself for us tells us that we are more valuable to Him than anything else (Mt 10:31).

He adores us so much He made us to be like Him. 

When our Father looks at us, He sees the perfect Spirit of Christ Who dwells in our hearts, not our soulish or physical flaws. 

When we diminish the desire to be like another person and replace that attitude with the longing to be like Christ, we will live in biblical self-love.

Barbara Latta is a true southerner and is transplanted from Arkansas to Georgia. She writes a monthly column in her local newspaper, contributes to devotional websites and has stories in several anthologies. She is the author of God’s Maps, Stories of Inspiration and Direction for Motorcycle Riders. She enjoys traveling with her Harley-riding prince on his motorcycle, taking in the creativity of nature. Drinking coffee on the patio while the sun comes up is her favorite time of day. Barbara shares about walking in grace and thriving in hope on her blog, Navigating Life’s Curves. She cherishes her role in life as a wife, a mom to two grown sons, and Mimi to one granddaughter.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.