Category: Goodness of God

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God’s Good Plans

Every building begins with a blueprint. From the smallest “tiny house” to the most intricate homes and palaces there is a plan to follow. A good plan.

And of course, in designing the construction of our lives God has a good plan.

“Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves. God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him.” I Corinthians 6:19-20 NLV

“ For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLV

The Lord is the master designer and architect. He created the earth and all that’s in it. It is a synchronized, master design. The days, the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tides all work together to support the balance of life on earth.

His design work can be seen in His instruction for building the tabernacle in the desert. The floor plan, the gold work, the bronze, the dyed skins and woven linens. A massive design.

Then take a look at our human bodies. The cells, the immune system that fights disease, the organs, our master computer – the brain, our circulatory and digestive systems, none of these occurred by happenstance. There was and is a master designer who has good plans.

So, why do we think that, if our heavenly Father went through all the thought and design to make things work so well, He would leave us to figure out our daily living and purpose without instruction? That’s foolish thinking.

I found myself reading and rereading two different chapters this morning, Psalm 34 and Proverbs 4. There is so much to absorb and apply in these verses. Please take time to read them.

“ I looked for the Lord, and He answered me. And He took away all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and their faces shined with joy. Their faces will never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. And He saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord stays close around those who fear Him, and He takes them out of trouble. 8 O taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who trusts in Him! ” Psalm 34:4-8 NLV

“10 The young lions suffer want and hunger. But they who look for the Lord will not be without any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ” Psalm 34:10-11 NLV

“My son, listen to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them leave your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. 23 Keep your heart pure for out of it are the important things of life...  26 Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure.” Proverbs 4:20-23 NLV

God, our Father and master designer, has grand plans for our lives!

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The Heavens Declare

I went out this morning to see the blood moon and the eclipse. My little camera didn’t capture it adequately…but my heart did.

People worldwide are looking up and the heavens are speaking.

“Wisdom and victory come when we listen to the Lord’s instruction. The heavens are telling of the greatness of God and the great open spaces above show the work of His hands. 2 Day to day they speak. And night to night they show much learning. 3 There is no speaking and no words where their voice is not heard. 4 Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun. 5 It is as a man soon to be married coming out of his room and as a strong man who is happy to run his race. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and it makes its way to the other end. Nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The Law of the Lord is perfect, giving new strength to the soul. The Law He has made known is sure, making the child-like wise. 8 The Laws of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The Word of the Lord is pure, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The Lord is always true and right in how He judges. 10 The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold, even more than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey straight from the comb. 11 And by them Your servant is told to be careful. In obeying them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:1-11 NLV

The earth tells of God’s greatness, the heavens declare His glory, His word gives wisdom and great reward!

Before I even stepped out on my porch my heart was singing. I am full of praise. The Creator of the sun, moon and stars sees me each day. He knows the number of hairs on my head. He protects me from harm. He calls me by name and has made me His child.

“I lift up my eyes to You, O You Whose throne is in the heavens.” Psalm 123:1 NLV

I call Him “Father”.

“All my words fall short
I got nothing new
How could I express
All my gratitude?

I could sing these songs
As I often do
But every song must end
And You never do

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

I’ve got one response
I’ve got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You” Gratitude by Brandon Lake

My heart sings praise to the Father. I hope yours does too!!

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Good Things

This morning I want to bring you some good things from the Scriptures – things like peace, joy, protection, healing, forgiveness, strength and wisdom.

Yes, all these things are brought to you by God from His word.

Peace:

“God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you. 4 So trust the Lord always, because in the Lord Yah you have a place of safety forever.” Isaiah 26:3-4 ERV

Joy:

“You have shown me the path to life, and you make me glad by being near to me. Sitting at your right side I will always be joyful.” Psalm 16:11 CEV

Protection:

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful. 2 Then you will say to the Lord, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.” 3 The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps and deadly diseases. 4 He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure. His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.” Psalm 91:1-4 CEV

Healing and Forgiveness:

“My soul, praise the Lord! Every part of me, praise his holy name! 2 My soul, praise the Lord and never forget how kind he is! 3 He forgives all our sins and heals all our sicknesses. 4 He saves us from the grave, and he gives us love and compassion. 5 He gives us plenty of good things. He makes us young again, like an eagle that grows new feathers.” Psalm 103:1-5 ERV

Strength:

“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” Philippians 4:13 ERV

Wisdom:

“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. ” James 1:5-6 CEV

Each day the Lord’s blessings and mercy are new. Let Him show you how good He is and how much He desires to carry your burdens.

“Praise the Lord! Every day he helps us with the loads we must carry. He is the God who saves us. Selah 20 He is our God, the God who saves us. My Lord God saves us from death.” Psalm 68:19-20 ERV

Now, I hope you will sit and savor the “Good Things” our Father has given you!

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Just Like A Child

A number of years ago, I was reading in Luke and I saw something I hadn’t seen before. In Luke 18 Jesus is telling the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector, who came into the Temple to pray.

The Pharisee looked for a place of prominence, threw his hands in the air and began praying loudly. It’s indicated that folks stopped to listen and commented on his piety.

The tax collector on the other hand quietly went to the corner, bowed his head and prayed humbly. No one really noticed that he was there. Except the Lord.

So this is the conclusion Jesus draws from his story.

” I tell you, when this man finished his prayer and went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee, who felt that he was better than others, was not right with God. People who make themselves important will be made humble. But those who make themselves humble will be made important.” Luke 18:14 ERV

Jesus wanted his disciples to learn the importance of humility. Jesus said of himself that he came to serve others, not to be served or waited on.

Now what happened next is the new part that I saw.

“Some people brought their small children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them to bless them. But when the followers saw this, they told the people not to do this. 16 But Jesus called the little children to him and said to his followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people who are like these little children. 17 The truth is, you must accept God’s kingdom like a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it.” Luke 18:15-17 ERV

Jesus had just spoken about humility and his disciples didn’t get it.

Parents brought their children to Jesus and the disciples were turning them away. Jesus was too important – he needed to be talking to the adults – He had thousands of followers; He didn’t have time to be bothered by these kids!

WOW! Stop the action.

Jesus interrupted the event and had the kids brought front and center. Bring the little kids here – let them come to me. It’s their faith that’s pure and their innocence is to be admired. They are examples to the rest of us!

Jesus was humble, he wasn’t too busy or too important that He couldn’t take time for the “little people”. We need to be like him today.

Who are the “little people” or the “sinners” in your life? The Father needs you to touch them with your love today!

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HOW GREAT!

Very often, early in the mornings my heart fills with song. Sometimes it’s just a spontaneous outpouring of gratitude, at others it’s a prayer put to music. Then there are the occasions that the song comes as a result of something I’ve read in my Bible as I start the day.

“ Follow my example: Even the Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.”

46 Then they came to the town of Jericho. When Jesus left there with his followers, a large crowd was with them. A blind man named Bartimaeus (meaning “son of Timaeus”) was sitting by the road. He was always begging for money. 47 He heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, please help me!”

48 Many people criticized the blind man and told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man and said, “You can be happy now. Stand up! Jesus is calling you.” 50 The blind man stood up quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus.

51 Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

He answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”

52 Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” Immediately the man was able to see again. He followed Jesus down the road.” Mark 10:45-52 ERV

Immediately! he followed Jesus. I can’t help but believe that he followed praising God, singing, shouting, rejoicing in God’s goodness. How great You are Almighty God!

There have been many times I felt like the blind man. Circumstances beyond my control, financial hardship, chronic health issues, broken relationships and I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see how things would change.,,

and then I realized that Jesus was walking by – in fact, I realized that I wasn’t alone. He had promised to never leave me or abandon me. He had said, “Ask and it will be given” and “Call on me” and “Come to Me and I will give you rest”.

He never once turned me away when I called. He welcomed me with open arms. His word instructed me not to be afraid but to trust in the Lord.

Reading this man’s story my heart began to sing, “How great Thou art, How great Thou art!” https://youtu.be/a-m_6KN5ISA.

Maybe that’s what you need this morning.

Call out to Jesus – give Him your blindness to the answers that you are seeking. Tell Him you want to see, see how He is going to work in this situation and then follow Him as He leads the way.

Oh Lord, how great thou art!

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Serving with Gladness

We need to be thinking like Jesus – we need to have the same mind set that He did. He came to serve mankind but He didn’t compromise His principles in His service. He was humble and loving but stood resolute in His message of victory over sin and living godly.

“Earth, sing to the Lord! 2 Be happy as you serve the Lord!  Come before him with happy songs! 3 Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep he takes care of.” Psalm 100:1-3 ERV

Let’s serve others today without compromising our stand for the Lord.

“In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought. 6 He was like God in every way, but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit. 7 Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God. He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form. During his life as a man, 8 he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death—death on a cross. 9 So God raised him up to the most important place and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. 10 God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus. Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow. 11 They will all confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and this will bring glory to God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-12 ERV

Jesus served with a loving heart. He had compassion for those who were weak, hurting, distressed and overcome by wrong deeds and wrong relationships.

“ Follow my example: Even the Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.” Mark 10:45 ERV

Right after He said this Jesus healed a blind beggar. He touched the people of His time that others had ignored or worse yet, that they had shunned and deemed unworthy of common courtesy.

The blind, lame, lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, even a thief hanging next to Him on a cross.

God asks us to humble ourselves and serve. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He took on the form of a servant and ministered love and forgiveness to those in need.

When the opportunity to serve presents itself, let’s make the most of it and provide service with a smile. We serve God when we serve others.

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No One Like You!

Who is like our God?

No one – there is no one like You. Those are the words that kept running through my mind in worship this morning – There is no one like You!!!

Amazing love, You gave Your life for me…there is none like You!

Amazing grace, You forgave all my sins…there is none like You!

Amazing joy, You put a new song in my heart…there is none like You!

Amazing relationship, You adopted me…there is none like You!

Amazing transformation, You made me a new creature in Christ…there is none like You!!

“O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” I Chronicles 17:20 KJV

“LORD God All-Powerful, there is no one like you. You are strong, LORD, and always faithful.” Psalm 89:8 ERV

“Remember what happened long ago. Remember, I am God and there is no other God. There is no other like me.” Isaiah 46:9 ERV

Oh Lord, we worship you this morning. Your word is our source of life and strength. You keep your word and your word directs us in relationship with you! How we praise You! You alone are worthy of all praise!

“You will do all these wonderful things because you said you would do them and because you want to do them. And you decided to let me know about all these things. 22 Lord GOD, this is why you are so great! There is no one like you. There is no god except you! We know that because of what we ourselves have heard about what you did.” II Samuel 7:21-22 ERV

There is no one like You! Amen and Amen.

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The Note

I got up this morning thinking about what I needed to do today. The item at the top of my list is write thank-you’s.

Acknowledgement and appreciation is important. Without them we could develop an attitude of entitlement and selfishness. As a child, Mom made sure that we wrote our grandparents and other family members when they gave us a gift. Christmas, birthdays, graduations, etc. never passed without her nudging of “did you write your thank-yous”.

For as long as I can remember I have verbalized my gratitude when someone does something they don’t have to and assist me or make my job easier but saying “Thank you. I really appreciate that.” Those are not empty words, they are not cliche. They are a heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Why am I telling you this? Glad you asked.

I realized this morning that I do this very thing everyday when I write in my journal. Nearly every day the first two words I write are “thank You”… That’s probably the reason I spend so much time in the Psalms. David and the other writers continually expressed their thanks to the Lord.

“Praise the name of the Lord! He is kind and good.” Psalm 135:3 CEV

“Praise the Lord! He is good. God’s love never fails.” Psalm 136:1 CEV

“ Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:6-7 CEV

Gratitude removes worry and brings peace. Thankfulness puts our eyes on the blessing and the One who gave it to us and not on our own limitations.

Just yesterday I was reading about the miracle of the ten lepers who asked Jesus to heal them. It’s an interesting story of thankfulness.

“As he was going into a village, ten men with leprosy came toward him. They stood at a distance 13 and shouted, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’

14  Jesus looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ On their way they were healed. 15 When one of them discovered that he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. 16 He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” Luke 17:13-16 CEV

Ten men were cleansed, only one came back to thank Jesus for what He had done. Look at Jesus’ reaction:

“17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Luke 17:17-19 AKJV

There’s a difference between being cleansed and being made whole. Cleansed or healed means the leprosy was gone. The dead and rotting flesh was healed but the man who returned with the grateful heart was made whole. This word indicates that missing body parts had been restored – instead of stubby fingers, whole fingers replaced them. Instead of a nose partially there, a “whole”ness came.

A miracle for sure. Healing and wholeness!

Write a note – say thank you – give glory to God and let the healing power of God’s love flow, unlimited power and peace!

Thank you for reading each morning, I really appreciate it.

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Ever Present – Ever Faithful

“The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.”(Immanuel means “God with us.”) Matthew 1:23

” But the Lord will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 CEV

God with us – in the car going to work; in the kitchen baking cookies; helping our kids with their homework; Christmas shopping; sitting beside the bed of a sick friend; sitting alone looking at the checkbook and the bills that need to be paid.

God with us – His purpose in coming was to be “with us”. In fact, Hebrews 13:5 tells us that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us.

We are also told that He promises to provide all our needs, heals all our diseases and forgives all our sins. Psalm 103

He always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus. II Corinthians 2:14

Can’t say that’s the way it’s always been in my life but I can say that when I realized that “God with us” it has certainly changed the outcome for the better – the best.

When we focus on all “we” have to do and how it’s “All” up to us, we become self absorbed. We make a very small package. But when we realize, truly realize, that God’s purpose is to “Be with us”, when we unwrap the present of His presence in our daily lives our world changes dramatically.

” What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?” Romans 8:31-32 CEV

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11

God’s present to us is His presence today. It fills us with joy!

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Think On His Goodness

Choose to let yesterday go! Those are the words that filled my morning mediation. I choose to let yesterday go and live today in God’s goodness.

Yesterday after work I began preparation of the recipes I am making for Thanksgiving dinner. I had a recipe card before me. It was probably written 50 years ago. My handwriting but my mother’s recipe.

I assembled the ingredients on the cupboard and then concentrated on the exact ingredients, measuring correctly, not guessing as I sometimes do. You see, this time I’m taking it to share with friends, and I wanted it to be good, not just ok.

That was what I thought of as the Lord prompted me to let yesterday go and live today in His goodness.

I’m to use the same concentration that I did in getting each ingredient of the recipe measured correctly. I needed to measure His goodness, His love and not let anything else contaminate the recipe.

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 NLV

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:1 NKJV

“ For sure, You will give me goodness and loving-kindness all the days of my life. Then I will live with You in Your house forever.” Psalm 23:6 NLV

“Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever.” Psalm 106:1 NLV

The recipe for a life focused on God’s goodness is one void of anger, frustration, and strife. Those ingredients sour and taint the pleasing flavor of the life God intends us to have.

Make today one where you savor the goodness of God!

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