JustifiedFreely | Kristi's Morning Devotional

in praise to the Lord!!

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. ²³Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. ²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT

Yesterday was a day of tiny miracles and heart filled praise.

It started before I even walked out the door. Reports of the goodness of God and answers to prayer. Before I the day was over I had heard from friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances of God’s goodness. Mended relationships, answers to medical questions, living situations set on course, financial blessings, safety and protection from imminent danger!!

“All my words fall short
I got nothing new
How could I express
All my gratitude?

I could sing these songs
As I often do
But every song must end
And You never do

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah”

This song by Brandon Lake is one of my favorites that we sing in worship, “Gratitude”. I can sense the tears beginning to well up as I write you these words and silently sing “Hallelujah, Hallelujah”.

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. ²Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. ³He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. ⁴He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. ⁵He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!…Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. ²¹Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will! ²²Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord.” Psalm 103 NLT

He fills my life with good things. I am justified freely, made right with God. Covered by His mercy, living by His grace, and strengthen by His might.

“But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 NLT

Join me. Join all of creation! Throw up your hands and praise Him again and again. Sing hallelujah.

For the last number of days, I have been mulling over the word justified.

I remember a definition that we were given for that word when I was in Sunday School. Justified = just as if I never sinned! Wait here for just a moment and let that sink in.

It took me years to come to grips with that. Because of Christ, I am justified. For years it seemed I tried to measure up to standards that were placed in front of me. These are the things a good Christian does and these are the things they should never do.

It seemed to me that my success as a Christian was doomed. I couldn’t measure up.

“we know we cannot become right with God by obeying the Law. A man is made right with God by putting his trust in Jesus Christ. For that reason, we have put our trust in Jesus Christ also. We have been made right with God because of our faith in Christ and not by obeying the Law. No man can be made right with God by obeying the Law.” Galatians 2:16 NLV

Obeying the rules, following the do’s and don’ts won’t put us right with God. We are justified by what Christ has done for us.

“²⁰No person will be made right with God by doing what the Law says. The Law shows us how sinful we are.

²¹But now God has made another way to make men right with Himself. It is not by the Law. The Law and the early preachers tell about it. ²²Men become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ. God will accept men if they come this way. All men are the same to God. ²³For all men have sinned and have missed the shining-greatness of God. ²⁴Anyone can be made right with God by the free gift of His loving-favor. It is Jesus Christ Who bought them with His blood and made them free from their sins. ²⁵God gave Jesus Christ to the world. Men’s sins can be forgiven through the blood of Christ when they put their trust in Him. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to show how right He is. Before this, God did not look on the sins that were done. ²⁶But now God proves that He is right in saving men from sin. He shows that He is the One Who has no sin. God makes anyone right with Himself who puts his trust in Jesus.” Romans 3:20-26 NLV

We are justified, made right with God, by putting our trust in Jesus!

All in, all done. Christ paid the price for all our sins. He has given us new life, and He is our example on how we should live.

“Do as God would do. Much-loved children want to do as their fathers do. ²Live with love as Christ loved you. He gave Himself for us, a gift on the altar to God which was as a sweet smell to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 NLV

By God’s goodness and love, we have been justified. For me, this message came just in time!

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Throw Up Your Hands

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