WHICH RIGHTEOUS MAN DO YOU WANT TO BE?

The Bible says that Abraham was righteous. But do you know that his nephew Lot was righteous too (see 2 Peter 2:7–8)? Yet, both men lived very different lives. Although they both lived under God’s grace some 400 years before the law was given, Abraham was very blessed, whereas Lot lost a lot!

Both men had large herds and flocks. When their herdsmen started quarreling over space, Abraham took the initiative to make peace. He even let Lot pick the lands that he wanted. Both men were righteous, but one was more gracious than the other.

Lot picked the well-watered plain of Jordan, where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were. He dwelt there and pitched his tent as far as Sodom. Eventually, he lived in Sodom. Now, Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible represent a sinful lifestyle. Some Christians think, “Since I am righteous by faith and under God’s grace, I can live a sinful lifestyle.”

Well, let’s learn from Lot. He first saw Sodom, then his feet walked toward it and finally he went into it. I like what a great man of God said: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.” What did Lot end up paying?

He was captured when four kings plundered Sodom and Gomorrah. And even after Abraham rescued him with the help of God, he did not learn his lesson. He went back to Sodom. Some Christians live from one bail-out to another. God delivers them from, say, debt, and they go right back to borrowing money or gambling! Sodom and Gomorrah were eventually destroyed. Lot escaped with only the clothes on his back and even lost his wife in the process.

Beloved, you are the righteousness of God in Christ. When you truly understand what Jesus did to make you the righteousness of God, it will cause you to fall out of love with sin and fall in love with God. Then, it will not be hard to have a heart for God, as Abraham did, and like Abraham, be blessed in all things! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

FIND PROTECTION IN THE CHURCH

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:25 NLT

A precious brother who attends Grace Revolution Church in Dallas shared with me a precious testimony of how the Lord had protected him and his wife from the tragic terrorist attacks that took place in Paris:

To celebrate our anniversary on November 10, 2015, I wanted to do something very special. My wife enjoys cooking and baking and loves French cuisine. We had been talking about traveling to Europe and I thought this would be a good time for us to travel to Paris to celebrate our anniversary. I had set up a trip leaving on the Wednesday and returning on the Sunday of that week.

However, I forgot Pastor Prince’s Grace Revolution Tour was taking place in Dallas during the same weekend. Because I was trying to keep the trip a secret, my wife didn’t know to remind me either! But when I told her my plan three weeks early, she quickly pointed out my oversight and I rescheduled the trip for springtime. I was disappointed at that time about not getting to go on the trip.

We now know that the terrorist attack in Paris started on the afternoon of the Friday I’d planned for us to be there. Had we gone to Paris as I had originally planned, we would have been there during the attack.

Pastor Prince had been preaching on divine protection quite a bit, especially over the year before. We had been hearing from Pastor Prince not to take our protection for granted and had started sharing with our boys about how we are protected by our Father. We had begun praying with them to thank the Lord for His protection over our lives. We both felt that we had experienced God’s “right place, right time” protection.

I’m not sure how close we would have been to the horrible terror acts had we gone on the trip, but I do know that God’s grace kept us thousands of miles out of harm’s way. We were protected, enjoying that time with our family, singing praises to God with the church’s worship team and learning more about grace from Pastor Prince in Dallas!

Do you see, dear reader, how we can learn about and be led to walk in God’s divine protection over our lives when we take His Word seriously and are planted in a local church? In every way, our lives and our marriages will be preserved, protected, and flourishing.  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).