For the Lord is righteous;he loves righteous deeds;the upright shall behold his face.

— Psalm 11:7

Works are a tricky topic. The Bible is incredibly clear, in passages like these, that God loves to see good works performed by his people, but we also know that “no one is good” no, not one. How do we reconcile those two things? What’s more, we read in Psalm 5:4:

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.

If we are wicked, and wickedness cannot dwell with God, where does that leave us?

Well, in his goodness, and in his grace, he redeems our former ways, and through his own works, his grace, and kindness he justifies us as though his record is our own. In the Epistle to Titus, we read:

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

— Titus 3:4–7

You are not going to live a perfect life. However, God is a perfect God. He requires of us more than we ever give, and so he provides for us more than we could ever ask for. When he looks at his people, he sees the righteousness of Jesus. Our works might be like filthy rags, but he takes those and turns them into glorious robes of pure white.

Our response now, is one of faithfulness to God. Keep that in mind as we pray.

Let’s pray.

Praying through the Bible

Lord of righteousness,

How gracious is your love to me?I have committed sins both before I knew you,and even today I have fallen short of your glory.

Yet, I will behold your face.The righteousness I bear is not my own,But was bought by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus, Saviour, Redeemer, Miracle Worker,You saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness,but according to your own mercy,You have washed us,And are regenerating and renewing us daily,Through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit,Whom you have poured out on us

Now, we pray, that being justified by your graceThat as we wait in the hope of eternal life.Work through us for your good.Put our hands to good use.Not so that we might re-earn these clothes of Righteousness,But that others might see your goodness through us.

In the righteous name of Jesus, we pray,

Amen

Today’s Readings

Whether you’re ready to sit and read these now, or you think later might be a better fit, I recommend looking through your plan for the day now. If you follow this Bible reading plan, you’ll finish the whole Bible by the end of the year.When will you sit down to read or listen to them?

John 1, Psalm 11, Psalm 12, 1 Chronicles 1:26-27

Serug, Nahor, Terah;Abram, that is, Abraham.

1 Chronicles 1:26-27

https://www.ravenswritingdesk.co.uk/p/dont-finish-that-book

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