"Wear My robe of righteousness with ease, I custom-made it for you...the price I paid...My own blood...sometimes you forget righteousness is a gift, and you feel ill at ease in you regal robe...as you practice walking in this garment of righteousness...when your behavior is unfitting for one in My kingdom, do not try to throw off your royal robe. Instead, throw off the unrighteous behavior. Then you will be able to feel at ease in this glorious garment enjoying the gift I fashioned for you before the foundation of the world.
Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
II Corinthians 5:21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off you old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
** I have to admit I don't often think about being clothed with garments of salvation and arrayed in a robe of righteousness, but today's devotion got me pondering several things:
1. In the Isaiah passages it is actually Isaiah speaking, it was also a foretelling of Jesus, but I do believe it also applies to us today. One statement with many applications.
2. At first the verses in II Corinthians and Ephesians seem to imply that it is just a possibility that we become the righteousness of God or that it is an on going process of putting off our old self, and putting on our new self; but if you read the verses in context it becomes clear that when we accept Christ as our Savior we put off the old self and put on the new self and God clothed us in garments of salvation and arrayed us in the robes of righteousness. One time event!
3. These garments are gifts from God, not something we earn or have to take off when we do something bad and get to put back on when we are good. They are now what we wear. We can take no credit for them, but we need to acknowledge the gift and wear them with a thankful heart.
Always back to thankfulness!
one thousand gifts:
#48 the helpfulness of Tom
#49 Andy and Kelly watching Cocoa
#50 sunshine after the rain
#51 riding in the Solara with the top down, on a sunny day with the temperature of 75 degrees, drinking sweet tea, listening to Josh Groban, on the way to Robin and Boh's house!
#52 dinner with the Kurylo's: spicy food and sweet friendship
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
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