One of the passages from today’s selection in Daily Light on the Daily Path was from Isaiah 45:24: “In the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.” That gave me a lot to meditate on during the rest of my morning routine.
When I buy new t-shirts and put them in the drawers next to the old ones, I’m appalled at how grey the old ones look — the ones that looked white before. That’s just a paltry comparison of what our righteousness would look like next to God’s. Even what might look like righteousness to ourselves and others is only filthy rags. I am so glad the Lord is my righteousness! I certainly don’t have any of my own. I’m so thankful He made a way that we could be made righteous through Christ.
And then I also have strength in Him! I couldn’t get by a day without it.
“All that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.” Though in some ways I am looking forward to the day when the mockers and scorners of the world are set right, my hope is that as many as possible will see Him aright before it’s too late.
A short while after I read these verses, I was a reminded of a study I did some years ago about what we have in Christ. I’d recommend that study to you: it’s enriching in many ways. I looked up in my Online Bible program (you could use BibleGateway as well — it’s helpful to put the words you are looking for in quotation marks when you are looking for an exact phrase) phrases like “in Christ,” “in Jesus,” “in the Lord,” “in him” (though with the last one you would have to sort through to find the ones specifically about the Lord) and then listed them and underlined what we have in Him. Here are a few:
Romans 3:24: ” Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
I Corinthians 1:30: ” But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”
Acts 17:28: ” For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
I John 1:5: ” This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
Colossians 2:9: ” For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
This study not only rejoices our hearts and strengthens us as we’re reminded of all that we have in Christ, but we can’t help but overflow with praise to Him for all that He is!
(Graphic courtesy of Creative Ladies Ministries.)
