Good God!

On July 25, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 73: 1       TPT

No one can deny it—God is really good to Israel and to all those with pure hearts. But I nearly missed seeing it for myself.

I have just returned from an Impact Ministry conference with Dr. Jim Richards. It was a special weekend with a special acknowledgement of Jim’s sister, Pat Richards. I am sure as time goes on, more and more will filter through my mind about what I learned. The takeaway that I loved most, though, was this statement from Dr. Richards, “God is good, and only good.” That is the point of this scripture, that God is good. And let’s get this part right – who is Israel? Well, that would be you. You have been made a royal heir according to your ingrafting into the family of God. However, some of us have nearly missed understanding about God’s goodness.

I’ve been teaching on the goodness of God for a long time, but the way Jim phrased that really resonated with me. We often hear, “God is good all the time” but it seems people don’t believe that. Perhaps we’ve heard it so many times that we have ceased to actually hear it with our brains. It amazes me how often Christians talk about the bad things God has given them. They will even praise God for it and tell you how it made them stronger. That comes from a misunderstanding of God but more particularly of Romans 8: 28 which teaches us that although bad things happen, God will take them and turn them for good. I call it the “Lemonade Scripture” because it basically says that God will take lemons and make lemonade. Because good comes out of a situation, does not mean, though, that God created the situation. That is very poor logic and just wrong. God is a good and benevolent God. He is good ALL the time and He is only good. He is never bad.

John 10: 10 reads, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Of course, these words were spoken by Jesus. If you understand, and even memorize, this verse, you will understand a great deal of the Bible and you will have a solid personal theology. First, you have to understand who the thief is. Jesus spent most of this chapter explaining the difference between a good shepherd and a bad one. He identifies himself and the Heavenly Father as good. They care for the sheep. The bad shepherd is, of course, the devil. We need to get this settled in our hearts and minds. You can imagine how funny the devil finds it when he sends bad into the world and our benevolent, good and gracious Father gets the blame for it.

Settle this once and for all in your heart and you will understand much about life and the world. When you see good, that is your Father because He is good and only good. Heaven doesn’t have any bad for Him to give you. There is no cancer in heaven. There is no hunger. There is only good in heaven. Our Father is only good, therefore always good. Don’t let this be a point of confusion for you any longer. Satan doesn’t bless you, he only curses. Goodness is of the Father. He is the source of all goodness in the earth. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. Therefore, if you see theft, death or destruction, you should be able to identify the author. The devil is a corrupter of good. He twists and perverts. He steals whatever is good and turns it inside out. There is no goodness in him.

Your Father knows how to give good gifts to His children, and He knows how to care for the sheep. He is the good shepherd for He is good and only good.

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Sharp & Strong

On July 24, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 15

Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; you will thresh the mountains, and pulverize them, and will make the hills like chaff.

God has made you something strong. You are no longer weak. Do you see who you are in His eyes? By and through Him, you are mighty and powerful. Is there a mountain looming over you? Well, God has made you able to demolish it so that it becomes little more than a memory. You will look around and say, “Where is that mountain that terrorized me?”

All that God is, all that Jesus brought and all that the Holy Spirit conveys, is alive and well on the inside of you right now. You are no little worm in the grass. God has made you the head and not the tail, above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28: 13). You are an overcomer, a victor. Let the vision God has of you fill you from head to toe. Change your self-image to agree with that of the Father. Then speak to that mountain and watch it vanquish before you. You are a beloved child of the most high. Let his expression of love dwell richly within you.

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Goodness

On July 23, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.

The Lord is good. That doesn’t sound like a huge revelation perhaps, but you might be surprised how many Christians have not come to that conclusion yet. He is good and He does good. He is not bad, and He does not do bad things to us. He is full to overflowing with goodness and He rains His goodness on us.

He is also a strong fortress in our day of need. What does it mean that He is a stronghold? It means that you can run to Him and he will be your strength, answer and protection. You can rely on Him to be your safe place when trouble heads in your direction.

What’s more, He becomes intimately familiar with those who trust Him and take refuge in Him. He wants to be your hiding place. He wants you to lean on Him when the pressure is on rather than relying on your own resources. You can come out of a bad situation as the victor and also closer to God. That alone makes it a victory. The more you get to know Him, the more you spend time with Him the more he will be able to share His wisdom and other good gifts with you. He is a good God and all of that goodness is stored up just for you.

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Vow of Love

On July 22, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Psalm 61: 7 – 8

I will live enthroned with you forever! Guard me, God, with your unending, unfailing love. let me live my days walking in grace and truth before you. And my praises will fill the heavens forever, fulfilling my vow to make every day a love gift to you!

Wow, what a vow! I never thought of that one, did you? Make every day a love offering to the Lord. No wonder David had the relationship with the Father that he did. No wonder he could hear the voice of God. He prayed earnestly, expecting God to take care of his every need but he gave back to God as well.

Psalm 103: 1 reads, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Have you ever wondered how to do that, how to bless the Lord? I have. I mean, He has everything. He can make anything He wants, except for the one thing He wants most of all. He longs for the love of His children. He just wants us to love Him. The things we can give Him are the things of the heart. You can spend time with Him. He values that highly. You can sing to Him, extol upon His goodness, even praise Him. When you pour out your heart to Him or just desire to spend time in His presence, it blesses Him.

I think we should all take a vow to love the Lord, our God, with every fiber of our being and to express that love as fully as possible. In today’s fast paced lifestyle, we don’t always stop and consider what would bless the Father. Well, it turns out that you are the love gift He most desires. Give Him you. Vow to make every day a love offering to the Lord.

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Restoration

On July 19, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Chronicles 31: 4

In addition, he required the people in Jerusalem to bring the prescribed portion of their income to the priests and Levites, so they could devote themselves fully to the law of the Lord.

This is the continuing story about Hezekiah and his efforts to restore the temple and the people of God. It puts me in remembrance of a ministers’ conference I attended a couple of years ago. I was shocked at the number of ministers who either worked a second job or were building a multi-level marketing company as a means of making ends meet. It is a very sad commentary that our pastors, the people who look after us are in such need. It seems to me that ministers ought to be some of the highest paid people in society.

Part of Hezekiah’s restoration of the people was the restoration of the tithe. It worked too. When he got the people to do what God commanded them to do, they prospered as did the priests and the temple. Verse 10 reads, “Since the people began bringing their gifts to the Lord’s Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare for the Lord has blessed his people.” As they began giving their ten percent tithe to the church, the Lord prospered them and thus the ten percent grew. It became ten percent of much rather than ten percent of a little, so everyone prospered and had enough to share.

I believe this would work in our society today. Hezekiah was able to rally the people around a cause. What would inspire that kind of devotion today? Statistics show that most people in the church do not tithe. People take and take from the church and from pastors and give little to nothing in return. It surprises me that they expect ministers to give their time and expertise for nothing, but it is reality. Let’s not be that people. Let’s find a rallying point and be faithful to the Lord and to those whom He has called into service. Then our pastors can devote themselves fully to the Word, as God has called them to do. It is the way to prosperity for us all. It is God’s success path and I know He will be very proud of us too.

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Project Planning

On July 18, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Chronicles 31: 21             NLT

Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful.

I have written on this verse before and no wonder, it is a very poignant verse. Notably there is instruction to seek God “wholeheartedly” and that is the point I have spoken to before. As I read this passage recently, God spoke it to me differently, as He is want to do.

We may seek God generally, but we may also seek Him in a specific fashion. By this I mean, we may seek Him just to know Him or just to spend time with Him, but we may also seek Him on a particular subject or issue. The way the Lord spoke this to me was that I, as well as all Christians, should seek Him on every new project. When we consider taking on a new project, the first thing we should do is to seek the Lord. Obviously, the first question is, “Father, should I take on this project?” If He responds affirmatively, then we can begin to project plan with Him. Frankly, we are a bit idiotic if we do not do this, but it may not be our habit as I doubt many of us were trained in this practice.

For all us Type A personalities, sometimes we get so caught up in the new idea that we don’t pause even to take a breath. We just throw our full strength into the new project. We are well advised, though, to pause for that deep breath and consider the ways of the Lord.

When you read today’s verse in other translations, you pick up on this idea. In all things Hezekiah sought the Lord with his whole heart and because he did, he succeeded. That also means that we shouldn’t make our seeking half-hearted. It isn’t just step one and so we rush through it to get to steps two, three and four. No, instead, if we will take the time to truly seek the Lord, He may well obliterate five or six steps, or even more so that we arrive at our goal more rapidly than if we just throw the force of our energy at it.

Stop today and consider all of the pies of your life. Are there any of those areas in which you have not sought the Lord’s counsel? It is not too late. Stop the merry-go-round and spend some quiet time with your Father. He will lead you in the way you should go. He will give you favor with the people who are instrumental in your project’s success and He will move the needed resources into place for you. Seek the Lord and succeed.

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Relaxation

On July 17, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 28: 7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.

This is a great model for showing us how to live with God’s active presence in our lives. We put our full trust in Him which allows Him to work in our lives. The result is that we are helped. The next thing that happens is that in our joy and gratefulness, we praise Him. Now that is how the Christian life is supposed to work.

Don’t spend all of your time crying and whining about your problems. Instead, take them to the Lord in full trust. Trust Him to be your strength and shield in every situation. Give the problem to Him fully. Then relax. When you do that, you give God room to work in your life. You have to let go in order for Him to be able to take over. But wait! Your job is not over when the solution comes. Your part of problem solving is praising the Lord who works on your behalf. Just spend your days praising and thanking him instead of in travail over all the challenges that meet you. Tell Yahweh that you know those problems to be His concern rather than yours and that you are going to praise Him all the days of your life. Trust Him. You are going to be amazed how much easier life can be.

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