The importance of right standing

It is more blessed to give service with true devotion than to receive mercy. What would it profit a man if he gains all he wants and loses what he needs(salvation)?

It is that day again, a day when many go to church to thank God for all that he has done for them in the year and to commit the next year into his hands. It is something that has become more or less a ritual to many, because on this day, year in year out, we are in church, not because we have to be, but because many believe it is wrong to be anywhere else. Many are in church on this night to go into the new year in God's presence and it has absolutely no impact on how they actually do live their lives in the following year. I came across a passage recently, a passage that reminds me of this, it talks about fasting but then, I think it goes far beyond fasting and focuses on the very lives we live as God's people.
Isaiah 58:2-5 it talks about a people that seek God daily, doing his ways like righteous people when in reality they were not. A people who acted like they loved God but could not in reality show the love they had for God to their fellow men.
Jesus put it plainly saying, by their fruits you will know them, it is not about what you profess to be, it is the results that will be used to determine who you really are. So you can live a life supposedly for God and at the end miss Him totally.(Matthew 7:15-23)
We are entering a new year, for most of us, we are entering the year in exactly the same mood as we have entered the previous years, right there in God's presence, but then what will make this year different from the previous ones? This is a question I have asked myself for the past couple of weeks, it is a question I have asked on close examination of myself, and my life this year and in the past years. And no, I dare not enter this year the same way I have entered all the previous ones. This year I want to be different and hence the reason for the topic.
Right standing as I define it today, is right standing in the eyes of God, being where He wants you to be, both with God himself and with men. Now while this may be seen as being righteous, I want to leave it as it is. Now there are two kinds of right standing, the one that comes from self and the one that comes from God. I differentiate them today as this;
Self right standing: Involves doing all the things I feel are right so as to get into heaven, doing all the things I feel are right to make me look good in the eyes of men.
True right standing: Involves doing all the things I know God wants me to do, not so I can get into heaven but so that through them I can glorify His name here on earth. While it may not make me a fan of all men, all the people that see would know that indeed it is a product of true relationship with God
Why do I make this distinction? All through the bible, there are men of God who have been recognized not just for the lives they lived, but because they were seen to be on right standing with God. From Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel all through the scriptures to Paul. Men who put what God wanted, above all else. Men who lived lives that men saw and glorified God for. But then what did they gain? What is the big deal about right standing?
Mathew 6:33: Seek the kingdom of God first and all these shall be added to you, these meaning all what was mentioned in Matthew 6:25-32, what to eat, what to wear, where to stay and your life as you don't know it.
Psalm 1:3: To be like a tree planted by rivers of water. No matter the season, you shall remain strong and whatsoever you do shall prosper. Having Matthew 6:33 in mind that is seeking first the kingdom of God and its righteousness in all you do. Having in mind that in all you do you are where God wants you to be, you shall prosper.
2 Peter 1:3-11: What Peter considered a blessing and a fulfillment of God's promise was not riches, not silver, gold or long life, but protection from the world; the corruption in it through lust (vs 4). Having in mind that in lust, we have the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh.
So many promises, no weapon fashioned against you will prosper (Isaiah 54:17), all things will work for your good (Romans 8:28). All dependent on your standing with God.

Your desire to live right, your desire to depend solely on God for your deliverance, total dependence on the work done on the cross, your faith in the death of Christ. your faith in the only living God, what counts as your right standing, sets you at the start of the race track to life...
By one man we were doomed by Adam, by another we all were saved, by Christ, that all who believe, all who have faith in Him will see eternal life.
Why do I say right standing sets you at the beginning of the race track? Jesus spoke of what happened at the end, the ones who thought they were living right (one can say running the race, fighting the good fight) Christ said to them depart from me, I know you not. They were not recognized. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. You cant confess with your mouth and not believe in your heart, that is living an empty and hollow life. You can't believe in your heart and not confess with your mouth (by confessing with your mouth I am talking about showing it not just in your speech but in the very life you live), it reminds me of the parable of the good Samaritan. It is one thing to feel pity but if it is not shown then it is of no use whatsoever.
Reminds me of the parable about the two sons, one said he would go meaning it but never did. The other said he never would but eventually did due to his change of heart.
Believing in your heart qualifies you, saves you, but then salvation is only the first bit... Faith as small as a mustard seed... But then it grows, you start the race, you don't just stay at the starting line, you actually run the race. You believe in your heart why not proclaim with your life? It is a new year, a year that I dare not go through in the same way I went through the previous ones. How about you?