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The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
May this be a wonderful Wednesday for you and yours, dear Friend! Advent is coming this Sunday, but as we prepare today, it may arrive sooner in our hearts, minds and spirits. May this devotional time prepare your life for wonderful things today is my prayer!
Righteousness is knowing that someone or something is morally right, as in a righteous person always does what is right and correct. It is a desired quality in us and those around us, especially those who represent an office or service that we believe should be always morally correct. To share a recent story, Nellie and I disembarked off our cruise hip in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had no plan, didn't purchase an excursion; we only wanted to get to a Starbucks to buy a coffee cup for our son-in-law who collects SB cups from around the world, as do I. We wanted to walk from the ship into town. The setup at the port is not geared for that. It is geared to overwhelm you with the need to get on a bus or taxi or risk walking into a crowd of very persistent and clingy cab drivers. From what we could see, the roads leading to the port were not made for pedestrians. And the weather was very warm. We told a couple of taxi drivers that we would walk. One gentleman said it was a long walk, and too hot a day for a lady to be walking. Got me. Okay, I ask, what would you charge us for the ride into town? He said seven dollars and immediately said, ten dollars for the two of us. Okay said I. We got into a nice Toyota van and he drove us first to a drugstore for some medicine we thought we could find, but didn't; then on to the Starbucks. Well, I did not have a ten dollar bill; he said he would take us back to the ship for the twenty dollars, a roundtrip as it were. He said we should not worry, he would come back for us. If you're like me, you're reading this and thinking, "He isn't coming back!" I asked if I could trust him. He said he had children and he worked to support them and he would not do anything to make his children ashamed of him; so yes, we could trust him. We said for him to come back in an hour and a half, thinking that would be enough time for our purchase and a look around. Well, we needed all of five minutes to make the purchase and since SB had free wifi, we sat there to quickly check our phones, etc; all the while discussing our doubts that he would not come back. At several points we thought, we'd better start walking back now. The man was a righteous man, for after an hour and fifteen minutes he pops into the SB and asks if we are ready. Boy, were we ready. I prayed asking God to forgive my unbelief and to thank Him for this man who showed righteousness.
As the prophet Jeremiah wrote the words of today's passage, there was no righteousness in the land. Both Israel and Judah had abandoned God. Their king during Jeremiah's day was evil, as was his son; it was his 8 year old grandson, Josiah, who finally returned righteousness to God's people. But, Josiah was not the one mentioned as the one who could be from the lineage of David. This is an Advent passage speaking of the coming of the One who brought salvation and safety to those who believed in Him, Jesus our Lord and Savior. And Jerusalem, the capital city would be the place known by a new name, "The Lord is our righteousness." It goes to show that we who love and trust the Lord should be known as people of righteousness. Our yes should be yes, and our no, no. Our word should be our bond; not only to God, but to any who ask it of us. We seek to live a life that blesses God. Has that day come to your household? We watch a television show where the parents, and this is a reality show, not scripted, have a daughter of driving age, but are not willing to permit her to drive because they have had problems with her. She has lied to them on several occasions and has been in trouble in school. When in middle school, she spray painted her name on the side of the school, and the parents fear her immaturity will also come out in her driving. The girl volunteered for the third year in a row, to help her church's Vacation Bible School program and did an exceptional job. The mom checked with the teacher with whom she worked and glowing reports on the daughter made the parents finally agree to let her drive.
If we seek to find righteousness around us, it makes sense that it starts with us. As we model a life that pleases the Lord, it will rub off on our children and grandchildren. Our prayers, our actions, our words should show a pattern that can be followed as we seek to praise and please our Lord.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless my life to be a blessing of righteousness to those around me. Let my word, my actions, even my thoughts reflect my total commitment to You, In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Let righteousness arrive today in your life!
Eradio Valverde
