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But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. – Matthew 3:15

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Jesus, the model of love, is also the model of rightousness. As the son of God, he came down from his place of the only begotton son of God and died on the cross for the sins of humanity. He was without sin, became sin for us, and died for us while we were still sinners. He was stricken and put to death in front of the people whom he thought, healed and even raised from the death.

This is the rightousness of God. If we are not ready to die for Jesus, we are not worthy to be his disciples. When the kingdom of darkness invades our world, we must be ready to take the cross and walk openly before others. We answer to God and not to man. God may appoint people to bring shame, destruction, hate, and pain into our lives, but if we suffer for Jesus, it is well with our souls. The world hates us because it hated him first. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

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