“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” (Acts 17:24-25

As I travel often in my line of work, I observemany types of buildings and structures built to serve God. Many of them them are awe inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful. And, although they are places where you can go to worship God, none of them are where God actually lives. He does not live in temples built by human hands!

God dwells in the human heart!

“Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Eze. 36:26)

“The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom. 5:5)

You have God in your heart because you have invited Him there!

“Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Eph. 3:17)

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

 “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7)

Don't be a fool, be wise!

“A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash” (Prov. 15:14 NLT)

Garbage in garbage out!

Some people tell me they can watch or read  anything and it doesn't bother them. That is foolish talk! Just because something doesn't bother you doesn't make it acceptable! It only means you have gotten so used to it that it no longer bothers you! It's like the proverbial frog placed in warm water. If it is heated up quickly, it notices and jumps out. But, on the other hand, if it is heated up very slowly, only one degree at a time, it doesn’t notice until it's too late and it is cooked! When you can watch and read stuff that is profane, blasphemous, evil, vile, and abusive and it doesn’t bother you, you have a problem. You have become a fool.

Whatever you put in your brain is what you become (or are)! You have a choice to make regarding what you allow to go into your head. You can put in trash or you can put in truth. The Bible says “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7)

 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor10:5)

The place you need to go to fill your mind with truth is God’s Word. Proverbs 2:6 says, “It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

To be “hungry” or “thirsty” means having a strong desire or craving. That is the kind of desire you must have about gaining righteousness.

What is Righteousness?

Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness.

The Bible’s definition of Righteousness

According to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, “God the Father is righteous (just); Jesus Christ his Son is the Righteous (Just) One; the Father through the Son and in the Spirit gives the gift of righteousness (justice) to repentant sinners for salvation; such believing sinners are declared righteous (just) by the Father through the Son, are made righteous (just) by the Holy Spirit working in them, and will be wholly righteous (just) in the age to come. They are and will be righteous because they are in a covenant relation with the living God, who is the God of all grace and mercy and who will bring to completion what he has begun in them by declaring them righteous for Christ's sake.”

The Bible describes the righteous person as just or right, holding to God and trusting in Him (Psalm 33:18–22).

We all fall short of God’s righteousness!

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)

The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.

 You cannot become righteous by your own efforts!

True righteousness is possible for mankind only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

Weare made righteous in the sight of God because of Jesus!

We are accepted as righteous and treated as righteous by God on account of what the Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross. He was made sin; we are "made the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21). On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He were a sinner, though He was perfectly holy and pure, and we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved. On account of what the Lord Jesus has endured on our behalf, we are treated as if we had entirely fulfilled the Law of God and had never become exposed to its penalty. We have received this precious gift of righteousness from the God of all mercy and grace.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:20)

The Bible is the best instruction book and it covers everything needed to prosper in any situation.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8)

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Prov. 29:25)

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2)

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)

If we focus on all the scary and alarming things happening around the world instead of the Word of God, it could cause us to lose heart. But, we do have the Word of God to encourage us andto tell us about the wonderful plans He has for us.

God has a great future planned!

God is going to create a new heaven and new earth for us! Weare temporary here and have a great future to look forward to!

“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (Jer. 29:11)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11)

Grace is God's unmerited favor and blessings

Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings. It is unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to humanity by sending his son to die on a cross, thus delivering eternal salvation.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace." (Ephesians 1:7)

"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-24)

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us.” (Ephesians 2:4)

Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. It is leniency, clemency, compassion, grace, pity, charity, forgiveness, forbearance, soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, sympathy, liberality, indulgence, tolerance, and generosity.

God is rich in mercy!

We have a powerful and merciful God. He knows we have all fallen short of His glory, but His mercy is incredible.

“For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.” (Psalm 86:5)

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5)

God is the embodiment of perfect goodness, and is kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward all creation

“O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)

“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (1 Chr. 16:34)

“Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.” (Psalm 69:16)

“For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)

"Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way." (Psalm 25:8)