Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s seek wisdom on intentionally living with integrity.

In today’s scripture, Proverbs 2:20‭-‬22 (NLT), we’re encouraged to follow the paths to integrity…
So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous… For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it… But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

And in 2 Peter 1:5‭-‬10 (NLT)
we’re exhorted to devop the attributes of integrity…
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,… and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,… and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone… The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ… But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins… So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.

Consider…
Living a life of integrity is not easy. Nor does it happen by osmosis or happenstance. Indeed, to be a person of integrity requires intentional and diligent efforts.

Today’s scriptures outline some of those efforts required to live a life of integrity.

In the first passage, we’re told to…

• Follow the steps of the good. That means if you want to be a person of integrity, you should identify and follow people of integrity. Better yet, follow the best example of integrity that ever lived, Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:6 (ERV), says…You accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, so continue to live following him.
• Stay on the paths of the righteous. Since, according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, we’re made right with God through Christ, adopting Paul’s perspective in Philippians 3:8‭-‬9 (NLT) will help us stay on the right path. Paul wrote…Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Since Jesus was the embodiment of integrity, there’s no better example to follow. Also, Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 NLT

The second passage gives us some specific character traits to develop in order to live in harmonious integrity. We’re told to supplement our faith, which suggests faith is only the baseline of integrity, and not the end-all be-all. We also know it’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Still we’re told to supplement it with…

• Moral Excellence, which is the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The only way I know to do that is to follow the wisdom from Galatians 5:16 (NLT), which exhorts…So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
• Knowledge, which is insight and understanding of who Jesus is and what He requires/desires of us. That means…Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved. – 1 Peter 2:2 ERV
• Self control, which is a fruit produced by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Patient Endurance, which makes me think of Ephesians 4:2 (NLT), which exhorts is to…Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
• Godliness, which seems impossible until I remember 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT), which encourage s…By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
• Brotherly Affection, as also exhorted in Romans 12:10 (NLT)…Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
• And lastly, Love for everyone, which is self explanatory. Still, we know everyone means everyone. Remember Jesus said, “But I say to you people who are listening to me, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. – Luke 6:27 ERV

Looking at possessing the character traits, and following the example of Jesus, makes living a life of integrity seem overwhelming. However, the Holy Spirit showed me the secret to achieving it in three verses…

• Enjoy serving the Lord, and he will give you whatever you ask for. – Psalms 37:4 ERV
• And Jesus said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” – John 15:7 NLT
• Speaking of Jesus, Philippians 4:13 (ERV) reminds us…Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.

In closing, the Holy Spirit stressed the point that integrity requires us to be intentional like Jesus. He directed me to John 6:38 (AMP), where Jesus said…
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

Then the Holy Spirit doubled down and said that I must have the same attitude of Jesus, which was humble obedience to God, even unto death (Phillipians 2:5-8).

He ended by pointing out that Jesus was a living sacrifice his entire life here on earth (Matthew 20:28). And, He said, that’s why we’re exhorted to offer ourselves as living sacrifices in Romans 12:1.

That’s when the Holy Spirit put the bow on this week’s focus on integrity. He said, Christ-like integrity is being intentional about being like Him! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Today’s song is…
Be Like Jesus

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)