Blessed Christian Fellowship

The Legacy of the Righteous

Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Both the righteous and the wicked will die. We will all soon graduate from this university of life. Much has been said regarding the late Michael Jackson. There's so much commotion and regret.  

On this news article, headline reads : Michael Jackson's Life Cut Shockingly Short 
updated 8:51 a.m. ET June 26, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, defined in equal parts as the world's greatest entertainer and perhaps its most enigmatic figure, was about to attempt one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Then his life was cut shockingly and so far, mysteriously  short.

The 50-year-old musical superstar died Thursday, just as he was preparing for what would be a series of 50 concerts starting July 13 at London?s famed 02 arena. Jackson had been spending hours and hours toiling with a team of dancers for a performance he and his fans hoped would restore his tarnished legacy to its proper place in pop.

........It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known, his brother Jermaine said.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31552029/ns/entertainment-music/

On Daily Finance News, it reads:

Michael Jackson leaves $1 billion in assets, $500 million in unpaid debts

Michael Jackson died with his books out of balance. The concerts he planned in London might have generated enough cash to pay off his debts, but a rumored Demerol injection stopped his heart before he could perform there. So he leaves this earth with as much as $500 million in unpaid debts.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/26/michael-jackson-leaves-1-billion-in-assets-500-million-in-unp/

Life is indeed unpredictable. We can't create our own push buttons and dictate when we want to breathe or stop breathing. How are we really making our lives count? What kind of life do we want to leave behind as lasting memory? What kind of legacy are we willing to leave behind?  

Again, Proverbs 10:7 states that- The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Who is then the Righteous Man before the Lord?

1.) Gal. 3:6; Rom. 4:3 Abraham believed God and it was reckoned/credited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS

 This kind of faith is a trusting faith; Abraham entrusted his entire life to the Lord. He followed God in COMPLETE SURRENDER and TOTAL OBEDIENCE.

Abraham was once tested to offer his only son as a sacrifice to God and he passed the test. In another occasion, in Gen.12:1 and Heb. 11:8, by faith, he obeyed the Lord even though he doesn't know where he is going! Now, that is really TRUE FAITH!

2) The righteous man leads a blameless life/ walks in integrity
Prov.20: 7 (NIV) The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- all walked before the Lord and obeyed the Lord and therefore, their children were blessed!!!

Joseph, Jacob's son is an amazing example. Gen. 39: 23 says: The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper. 

NIV - The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Even in prison, even in the midst of a difficult time in his life, Joseph kept himself blameless before the Lord. When faced with pressures and temptations, just like that time when his employer's wife is seducing him, Joseph remained firm in his commitment to his God and chose to be imprisoned rather than succumbing to that pressure!

 You can definitely prosper with your own agendas, with your own dream-building, vision-building activities. But as Christians, the most important question to answer is- is this God's agenda for me? Is this the Lord's will for me?

Heb. 11:6 says:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Come to Jesus, believe in Him and SEEK HIM.

On walking before the Lord, it involves more than merely achieving goals. People can accomplish all of their goals and still not be successful in God's kingdom.  

You can be as popular as Michael Jackson and be known as the King of Pop, be as wealthy as Bill Gates, still topping the chart as the world's wealthiest billionaire with an asset of $40 billion, 

......or as wise and young as these two:

"Sergey Brin and Larry Page both started Google while in their twenties. The two met in the science program at Stanford. They dropped out of school and started Google from a friends' garage in 1998. Brin currently serves as president of technology at Google and Page heads product division. The two are said to be worth $18 billion. ? Google is known as the world?s largest internet company"

There's nothing wrong in becoming successful or popular in this life and yet if we seek to follow God, then, everything must be in line with His own agenda for us.

You may be accomplishing so much and yet, if it is not the Lord's agenda for you , then it is not the kind of blessing that the Lord would want you to experience.

Prov. 10:22 says The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

The kind of blessing that we will experience is one that is satisfying. That kind of blessing that will bring joy, peace and love. That kind of blessing that adds neither sorrow nor trouble. Yes, there will be times of trials and pains even if you are already God?s servant. But those who endure and keep on following the Lord, those who seek Him diligently will be greatly REWARDED!

If you walk in His ways and obey God in integrity, you will be blessed, including the next generations and you will leave a lasting LEGACY and a blessed memory to all generations!

Dear Lord Jesus, you know me more than I know myself.

You know my past, my pains, my challenges

And yet, all these years, You have never left me.

Thank you Lord Jesus for you have gathered all the broken pieces in my life.

You have given me a new life.

My NOW is to live your agenda.

My FUTURE is to continually accomplish your will.

Then and only then I can say, 

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain!