It has been an incredible week filled with anticipation and excitement. My book, The Divine Set Up: From Prison to Pulpit, is now available for pre-order on Amazon here. We are gearing up for an exciting launch party in December, and I am thrilled to celebrate this journey with everyone who has supported and believed in this story of transformation. If you want to participate in the book launch party, subscribe to this blog to stay updated!

In other news, our family’s home renovation project is nearing completion. With fresh paint and new floors, the house is looking fantastic, and we are so grateful for this fresh start in our living space.

This week, we also celebrated a major win for our son Noah’s football team, the Tamarac Cougars, as they triumphed over the Hallandale Chargers in their first win of the season. Watching Noah and his teammates succeed on the field brings us so much joy. Go Cougars!

This Week’s Message: Rising from My Righteousness to His Righteousness

Reflecting on the powerful sermon preached this past week at Christian Life Center, we are reminded that righteousness encompasses more than just our position before God; it also shapes how we live in response to that position. Righteousness isn’t merely a one-time event or status—it’s an ongoing relationship and a lifestyle that transforms us.

First, righteousness is a relationship. It’s about being made right with God through the work of Christ, a position of grace where we are accepted and forgiven, not because of our own efforts but because of what Jesus has done for us.

The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself. ~ Apostle Paul

The “Good News” or Gospel is the “Message of Hope.”

Positional righteousness refers to what has already been accomplished through the grace of God. It’s not something we earn or achieve by our own efforts; it’s what has been done for us through the sacrifice of Christ.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made us right with God, securing our position as His children. This positional righteousness means that, when God looks at us, He sees us through the lens of Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

I Can’t Make Myself Righteous

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. ~ The Preacher

---

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

God Sent Jesus To Pay For My Sins

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

All I do is accept by faith what God did for me:
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Jesus Became Our Righteousness

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

The penalty of sin was taken on by Jesus, and His righteousness becomes ours when we accept Him as our Savior. When I stand before God, it is “in the righteousness of Jesus, not Shawn O’Neill.”

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So, God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS… A RELATIONSHIP AND…

Second, righteousness is a lifestyle. It’s how we live out that relationship in our everyday lives. We align our actions with God’s will, living in a way that reflects His character—not to earn His approval, but because we’ve already received His grace.

…all who practice righteousness are God’s true children. ~ Saint John

Lifestyle righteousness is about our response to the grace we’ve received. It’s the ongoing process of aligning our actions, decisions, and character with God’s will. While positional righteousness is something done for us, lifestyle righteousness is how we live it out day by day. It involves obedience, integrity, and living according to God’s standards—not to earn favor with Him, but because we are already in a relationship with Him.

Illustration of Lifestyle Righteousness

My own journey from prison to pulpit is a testimony of God’s transforming power. Once bound by darkness and brokenness, I found new life when I surrendered to Jesus. This transformation was not just about being forgiven but about embracing a new way of living—a lifestyle aligned with God’s will. It’s a daily commitment to walk in obedience, not to earn His favor but to respond to the grace I’ve already received.

The apostle Paul reminds us that trying to be good enough and earn God’s love is impossible. We are saved by grace through faith, not by our own works.

The Message of Hope

This is the true message of hope: only faith in Jesus can restore us to a right relationship with God. It’s not through our efforts, good deeds, or trying to live up to a certain standard. The Good News of the Gospel is that God’s grace is freely given, and it’s through placing our faith in Jesus Christ that we receive forgiveness, acceptance, and a new life.

No matter where you are in your journey, know that this hope is available for you. It doesn’t matter your past or present struggles—faith in Jesus is the answer that transforms lives. This is the hope that changes everything, the hope that brings healing, and the hope that secures an eternal relationship with God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we lift up all those affected by Hurricane Milton. We ask for Your comfort, provision, and strength during this time of recovery and rebuilding. May Your presence be a source of hope and peace to all those in need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.