Practicing Righteousness (Proverbs 10-11)

“Little children, let no one deceive you. 
He who practices righteousness is righteous, 
just as He is righteous.” (1 John 3:7 NKJV)

Truths About The Righteous Found In Proverbs 10 & 11:

WE SPEAK ONLY GOOD WORDS:

• “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” (10:11)
• “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is worth little.” (10:20)
• “The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.” (10:21)
• “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut out.” (10:31)
• “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.” (10:32)

~ Read and consider Ephesians 4:29-32, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Romans 12:9-21, and 13:9-10

WE SEEK ONLY GOOD FOR OTHERS:

• “The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.” (11:23)

~ Read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Galatians 6:1-3; 7-10, and Matthew 5:43-48

 

WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN TO SEEK & SERVE GOD:

• “Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.” (11:21)

~ Posterity means ‘future generations.’ Consider the battle in Joshua 9-11, also see Genesis 18:19, Deuteronomy 4:9, and 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17

 

WE TEACH OTHERS TO SEEK & SERVE GOD:

• “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” (11:30)

~ Read and think about Matthew 28:18-20, John 6:68-69 (how can we keep it to ourselves when we know this?), and James 5:19-20,

 

GOD'S WORD HELPS US MAKE PROPER CHOICES:

• “The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, but the wicked will fall from his own wickedness.” (11:5)

~ Read and consider Proverbs 3:5-6, and Hebrews 5:12-14

 

GOD WILL NOURISH US:

• “The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked.” (10:3)

~ Read and meditate on Matthew 5:6 and Isaiah 55:1-3

 

GOD WILL BLESS US:

• “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” (10:6)
• “The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not inhabit the earth.” (10:30)
• “If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.” (11:31)

~ Recompensed means “rewarded.” Consider Matthew 5:5, Psalm 37:11, and Hebrews 11:6

 

GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS:

• “The fear of the wicked will come upon him, and the desire of the righteous will be granted.” (10:24)

~ Read and think about James 1:5, Matthew 7:7-8, John 15:7-8, and James 5:16-18

 

GOD HELPS US IN OUR TROUBLES:

• “The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.” (11:6)
• “The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.” (11:8)

~ Consider Haman’s actions and his demise in the book of Esther – see Esther 5:9-14 and 7:1-10, also Psalm 34

THE BENEFITS OF PURSUING RIGHTEOUSNESS:

• “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.” (11:28)

~ Read and consider Psalm 1:1-3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, 1 Timothy 6:5-10; 17-19, Matthew 6:19-21, and Ephesians 1:3-14

 

WE HAVE A CONFIDENT HOPE:

• “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.” (10:2)
• “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” (11:4)
• “The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” (10:28)
• “The labour of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin.” (10:16)
• “The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.” (11:18)
• “As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.” (11:19)

~ Read and think on Romans 8:12-17 and 1 Peter 1:3-9

 

WE WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR GOOD:

• “The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.” (10:7)

~ Read and consider those noted in Hebrews 11, the woman in Mark 14:3-9, and Dorcas in Acts 9:36-42

Do you want to be a benefit to others? Share your confident hope in God with others? Do you want to be blessed, nourished, helped, and heard by God? Do you want to make good choices and be remembered for doing good? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)!! It is worth every effort and every sacrifice!

You can do it! So can I!!

Seek FIRST God's Kingdom and His Righteousness

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, 
faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord 
out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV)

    God never asks us to remove something from our lives without giving us something good to replace it with (take note of Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 “put off…” followed by “put on…”). In our theme verse, we are told to run from youthful lusts and instead run toward righteousness, faith, love, and peace. It is important that we understand what we are running toward in order to keep our determination focused on the goal.

Side note: The King James Version uses the word “follow” in 2 Timothy 2:22, but I like how the New King James Version uses the word “pursue.” “Follow” feels to me unintentional without thought, coincidental even (although it does not mean that), you are simply following someone down a hall, for example, but “pursue” is ripe with intention and purpose, you are pursuing someone down a hall, you fully determine to get to them!

    We are to PURSUE righteousness.

    Righteousness is ‘equity of character or act.’ ‘Equity of character’ is to possess all good qualities (of God, His attributes) in perfect balance.

    God is just while still possessing compassion and mercy. God is kind but His disposition toward sin will never be altered. God is love, but His love never undermines His Truth. 

For example: 2 Peter 3:9 “[God] is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish (His love for us), but that all should come to repentance” – His truth states that we will perish if we do not repent and submit to Him (see Romans 2:2-11). His love offers us hope, but we have a responsibility toward Him in order to have salvation.

    All that God is is in perfect balance! We should always be striving to be like Him in all things (1 Peter 1:13-16, 1 John 3:1-3), striving to conduct ourselves with that same balance.

    How important is it that we pursue righteousness?

    Consider Matthew 6:33:

“…seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you."
(NKJV)

    Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Above all else, seek Him and His righteousness. It’s THAT important!

    What are the things that will be added to you when you seek first God and His righteousness? See verse 31 – you will have life’s necessities: food, drink, and clothing. With these things you can be content (please read 1 Timothy 6:6-8) and you will not have to worry, God WILL provide. God blesses His children with what we need each day; that is why verse 34 states the command “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for today is its own trouble.”

    When we trust God to provide the necessities of life for us each day as we humbly seek and serve Him, we will soon realize that He also provides us with wisdom and strength to get through our day. When we realize that, we will not worry about tomorrow because we will know that if God grants us a new day, with that new day He will also grant us renewed strength and ability (Psalm 103:1-5, Isaiah 40:28-31, Lamentations 3:22-26) to use in that day.

    A woman seeking FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, will not worry about tomorrow. She will not borrow trouble from some future day - destroying the peace of her “today” – she will instead trust wholly in God, knowing He will be there in any tomorrow she may be granted. She will bless God and praise Him for the blessings He grants her today, her heart will overflow with thanksgiving and her mind will be guarded with peace (Philippians 4:6-8).

    God loves us! He is full of lovingkindness. He asks us to seek Him first. With each day we are given, let us do just that! And at the end of each day, let our hearts praise Him for the strength, wisdom, and ability He gave us to get through the day – He is forever faithful! Let us be forever faithful in our pursuit of being like Him, in our pursuit of being found right in His sight, in our pursuit of righteousness!

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,

And Your faithfulness every night.”

(Psalm 92:1-2 NKJV)

 You can do it! So can I!!

New Theme - 2 Timothy 2:22

    Our theme for the remainder of the year is 2 Timothy 2:22 – “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (NKJV) and I would like to suggest the following hymn as our theme song!

Higher Ground

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain: 

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven’s tableland, 

A higher plane than I have found; 

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where those abound,

My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Written by Johnson Oatman Jr, 1898 
Tune composed by Charles H. Gabriel, 1902

    This hymn may be very familiar to some, but let’s take the time to really look at it and how its words can help motivate us in our pursuit of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

    Verse One speaks of the forward motion of growth. “New heights I’m gaining every day” – a description of zeal toward God, learning and obeying His word, seeing the benefits and blessings found only in Christ and desiring to find out more. ~ Please read Psalm 119:161b-162.

    This beautiful hymn, as clearly seen in the chorus/refrain, is written as a prayer, asking God to ‘lift [us] up to higher ground.’ “Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on Heaven’s tableland.” A tableland is a broad, high, level region; a plateau. It’s a plea to have our hope, our focus, our faith, completely anchored in heaven (Hebrews 6:19; 11:13-16). “A higher plane than I have found; Lord plant my feet on higher ground.” It is an appeal to grow further in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18; 5:6-11)

    “My heart has no desire to stay, where doubts arise and fears dismay…” Verse Two states the determination to walk away from where we once were and move forward – from darkness to God’s marvelous light (Ephesians 5:8-10, 1 Peter 2:9-10). “Though some may dwell where those abound…” There will be people in our lives who don’t share our desire for growth and development, but we need to remember the big picture and the joy of being a child of God (1 John 3:1-3) and not let their apathy or negativity dissuade us from this thought: “My prayer, my aim, is higher ground”. ~ Please read Philippians 3:12-4:1. 

    “I want to live above the world, though Satan’s darts at me are hurled…” We all know that the devil’s desire is for Christians to fall. His focus is on us because we refuse to serve him, BUT GOD has promised us help! We are told that if we submit to God and resist the devil that he will flee from us (James 4:7-10). We are also given the armour of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil. Specifically, we have a shield of faith that quenches ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:10-18). Why do we stay in the battle? Because “…faith has caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.” It is worth every effort! ~ Please read Revelation 4-5.

    “I want to scale the utmost height, and catch a gleam of glory bright…” How beautiful to have the hope of heaven in our hearts! To desire so completely a home in heaven that we willingly climb the mountains of life, fully trusting God to fulfil His promises as we humbly obey His commands! Let your heart determine to seek God more and more each day and to say “but still I’ll pray ‘til heav’n I’ve found, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”” ~ Please read Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28, 3:5, 12, 21.

    Does your heart desire heaven, an eternal home in the presence of God?

“When You said, “Seek My face,” 

My heart said to You, “

Your face, LORD, 

I will seek.”” 

(Psalm 27:8 NKJV)       

    Let this hymn remind you of your determination to grow and reach new heights in righteousness, faith, love, and peace!

“Lord, please plant our feet on higher ground!” 

Click to listen to Higher Ground