Where is righteousness?

So I have been wrestling with the idea of righteousness and what it means to live in a way that would be described Biblically as righteous. Charles Finney [an old school evangelist] believes that revivals do not come from praying then down from God and he doesn't believe that they are miracles. He says we don't have to convince God to bring revivals that He wants everyone to be saved. He basically says that revival doesn't come until we [the Christians] get on fire for God and start living righteous lives. That when our lives start radically changing for Christ others will start to do the same. In other words, Finney says revivals don't start in the other they start with me. That has been a challenge for me to chew on.

When I think of righteous living I think of pride, cockyness, strong attitudes, no-it-alls, etc. But that is not what Scripture means. Righteous living is humbly coming to God and saying "search me and know me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting" it is confession, it is wisdom, it is distinguishing good from evil and choosing good. Doesn't Scripture say that God always provides us with a way out of our sinful temptations?

Proverbs 21:3 [niv] says this... "to do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice"

This was and odd scripture to me. But I read it in some other translations and looked at it closer. I love the way this is translated differently...

Proverbs 21:3 [the message] says this... "clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far mroe to God than religious performance."

This has made me think of our culture, of church, and trends that have come about lately and thought how caught up we have been in "experience" and creating atmospheres for people to "feel" things. I think at times they can be manipulative.

Worship can be the same way. I don't think God cares so much about us having this one "Sunday Worship Experience" as he does about our lives being transformed on a daily basis to be more and more like Him. That we become loving neighbors, that we become people of justice, who love mercy, that we become lights to people around us.

What a revival might look like then would be more like a church body as a whole committing to daily confessing, renewal and being filled with the Holy Spirit to live out the image of God to our world. It would be the transformation that starts to occur through Christ in our lives that would take our worship experiences to a whole new level.

"clean living before God" and "justice with our neighbors" sounds a lot like "love God and love your neighbors as yourself" and meaning "far more to God than religious performance" sounds a lot like "this is the greatest of all the commandments"

Know that I am not promoting legalistic living, but living that humbly approaches God regularly through confession - a breathing out of the junk of life, and filling - the breathing in of the Holy Spirit throughout the day.

I want to re-live over and over again the beauty, glory, and awe of living out God's call to me to live a righteous life. I want to know how to do so through His Word, and how to be faithful to that within my culture.

A song that has been on my heart along with these ponderings is...

Knowing You

(words and music by Graham Kendrick)

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Chorus:
Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you,
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord


Now my heart’s desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness

Chorus: (repeat)

Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know you in your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord

So with you to live and never die

Chorus: (repeat)

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This has been some of my ponderings of late. Let me know what your think...

May forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love through Christ be with you today.