"Right Standing"

"All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted." (Psalms 75:10) After all these years, you would think I could get a little more grip on the weakness and strength side of being a Christian. I can remember a shirt that I once had, I believe it was "God's Gym" on the front, but on the back it said, "Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD." (Zechariah 4:6) It's pretty comical, if you really stop and think about it; having so much real power at our disposal, yet we rely so much on our own strength and abilities more often then we actually realize. What gets me most about what Jesus went through on that cross, was that He had the power at His disposal to make it stop; or did He? We ask why He didn't if He could, but maybe He couldn't have, even if He wanted? Jesus used Jonah to illustrate more than just the 'belly of the fish' reference for three days in the tomb; He used the illustration of doing God's will, first and foremost. I know Jonah might not be your first choice for someone who choose to do God's will, but sometimes God's will might not have the kind of appearance we think that it should. What if Jonah would have just went straight to Nineveh as he was asked? Would it have had the same effect? I seriously doubt it. On the other issue of Jesus being able to save Himself off of that cross, how would He have been able to do anything against the Father's will, even if He wanted? Would the Father have listened if He had asked for it all to stop? No, I don't think that He would have; in fact, I'm pretty sure that Jesus knew perfectly well that was not an option. The word "horns" are meant to represent a symbol of strength and power; both words listed are the same, it is the "wicked" and the "righteous" which are different. Well what did you think the difference was between the wicked and the righteous, their own righteousness? The righteous are righteous because of what Jesus did on that cross, period! As soon as we start walking in our own righteousness, we have nothing worth sounding off about, we are just blowing hot air...
"But now God hath 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. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standards. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People were made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." (Romans 321-28) NLT