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Psalms 145:9 NLT The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.
It didn’t say the Lord is only good to those who honor and serve Him. It said the Lord is good to everyone and He’s compassionate to all His creation. This includes, liars, homosexuals, murderers, and thieves. No wonder the wicked and the “undeserving” seem to prosper. Since He created them, He’s decided to be good to them.
Now, before some of you go off on a “that’s not fair” tangent, at one point we experienced God’s goodness when we didn’t “deserve” it. In fact, none of us deserve anything. Everything was given to us by His grace. We all experienced promotions, protection, or blessings when we weren’t thinking about God.
So, what’s the point of His goodness? God’s purpose for His goodness is repentance. Romans 2:4 says, do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
God’s goal is for everyone to look at the good in their lives and realize it was Him keeping them all along. He desires that His goodness will lead to repentance and eventually a relationship with Him.
Praise God for His goodness, grace and mercy!
#God #is #good #kind #faithful #love #peace #prosper #progress #abundant #life #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #repent #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
1 Timothy 3:16 AMPC And great and important and weighty, we confess, is the hidden truth (the mystic secret) of godliness. He [God] was made visible in human flesh, justified and vindicated in the [Holy] Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, [and] taken up in glory.
Some people believe Jesus was only a prophet, Jesus was only a holy man, or Jesus was only the created son of God.
The scriptures tell us Jesus was God. He was 100% God who came in the form of a man. Matthew 1:23 says, the virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ This man is the Christ who died for our sins. Our belief in who He is and what He’s done gives us access to the Father and heaven (John 14:6).
Don’t be deceived by other religions who minimize who Jesus was while He was on the earth. Jesus is God, Savior, and Lord.
#Jesus #is #God #Savior #Lord #Christ #Life #salvation #freedom #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Habakkuk 2:2-3 MSG And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time.
Whatever God has put into your heart, write it down. Write down what the desire is and the date He put it into your heart.
Believe for that God-given desire to come to pass. It could be a home, a business, a ministry, or a child. To assist in your belief, find and focus on scriptures pertaining to that desire. That way, any time you’re tempted to be discouraged, you get to read what God has promised in His Word.
Speaking of being discouraged, the biggest discouragement is delay. We don’t know when these desires will come to pass. Only God knows. When the devil lies to us and says it’s not possible or it’s not going to happen based on how long it’s taking, we can respond with what is written in Habakkuk. We can say, God promised it’s on its way and the timing will be perfect.
Believe and remain in faith for these God-given desires to come to pass and don’t let delay ruin your day.
#wait #expect #trust #faithful #God #keeps #promises #strength #life #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Psalms 68:34 NLT Tell everyone about God’s power. His majesty shines down on Israel; His strength is mighty in the heavens.
When God does something good for you, tell someone about it. Don’t be ashamed. Tell someone.
Satan wants us to think that our testimony would be considered prideful or too insignificant to share. He’s a liar. Anything God has done, is worth sharing. You never know what that testimony can do for someone else. They could have been on the verge of giving up on their dreams or giving up on life altogether, but our testimony on the greatness of God could be the encouragement for them to trust God a little bit more.
Tell others about the greatness of God so that God can be trusted and praised.
#share #tellit #trust #faithful #God #keeps #promises #prosper #progress #abundant #life #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Matthew 6:23 PEV But if you always want to look at bad things, then you will think about bad things, and you will be spiritually blind, and you will not live God’s way. It will be like you are living in the dark. And if you are spiritually blind, with no light from God, it will be really bad for you.”
When we focus on bad things or have a negative perspective on things and don’t consider the good things in God’s Word, we’re spiritually blind.
For example, if we look at the problems we may have in our health and think this is what we’ll have to face for the rest of our lives, we’re spiritually blind to the truth that by the stripes of Jesus we’re healed. If we look at our finances and come to the conclusion we don’t have enough and not consider the riches that have been made available through Christ Jesus, we’re spiritually blind. If we accept any negative thing in this three-dimensional world as a fact, we’re spiritually blind.
To remove the blindness, we must get in God’s Word and understand all the things God has made available to us through Jesus. We must study who we are and what we have in Christ until God’s Word becomes more real than what we see, feel, hear, or experience. Magnify God’s Word above anything else and never be spiritually blind ever again.
#magnify #hopein #trust #believe #God #Spirit #Jesus #Christ #fulfill #purpose #manifest #miraculous #miracles #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Proverbs 29:25 GNBUK It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the LORD, you are safe.
When we’re concerned about what people think about us, we’re limited to what we can do or be. We become a slave to people’s opinions.
A lot of us have ideas, inventions, and concepts we’re not implementing because we’re concerned about what people will think of us. We can hear them saying how unwise it was or how risky it is to do this or that. However, if we trust in the Lord and choose not to be concerned about what people think of us, we can change the world.
Philippians 2:7 says, Jesus made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and changed the world. If He can do it, we can too (John 14:12).
Don’t worry about what other people think about you. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you to be yourself and to do the things God has called you to do.
#befree #from #people #trust #follow #God #Spirit #Jesus #Christ #fulfill #purpose #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Galatians 6:1 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
When we see someone getting off track and missing the mark, we shouldn’t just watch them go down the wrong path and not say anything. How unkind is it to see someone drowning in their sin and not help them?
On the other hand, when we see someone missing the mark, we shouldn’t condemn them and make them feel worthless or unloved by God.
So what should we do?
The bible uses the word “gently.” When we see someone missing the mark, our responsibility is to gently help that person back on track. We can gently and kindly show them the error of their ways.
After attempting to get them back on track by speaking the truth in love, they may get offended, not speak to us, or call us judgmental. We can’t be worried about that. We gently gave them the truth to help them and how they respond is none of our concern. On the flip side, they could thank us for loving them enough to tell them the truth.
Be bold enough to tell people the truth about their shortcomings to get them back on track. Just be sure to do it in a gentle loving kind way.
#gentle #bold #kind #helpful #God #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
In 2018, I had a comfortable life with my wife and child living in a house we built in Frisco, TX. I had job security and seniority. We had a wonderful church family, where we were living was blossoming, and we were expecting child number two.
In October 2018, God instructed me to apply for and accept a job in Houston, TX. My family lived in Houston, but the job required me to take a $6,000 pay cut, go through the process of selling my house, move my growing family in with my mom and grandma until our house sells, and learn something totally new. Despite all of that, I trusted and obeyed God.
After two months of living with my mom and grandma, our house sold and we found a house in the suburbs of Houston. The house was a new construction house that gave us everything we currently wanted in a house and neighborhood. Two years later, the favor of God caused a job I desired for fourteen years to become available in Houston. The favor of God caused people I was working with, but didn’t really know personally, to vouch for me. Those same people were tweaking my resume in order for me to be considered for the job. That job that I originally took a pay cut for allowed me to gain the knowledge and experience I needed for this new job. By the grace of God, I received that job.
Today, I make twice as much as I did when I first moved to Houston which allows me to be a blessing to the Kingdom of God, be a blessing to people, and enjoy the abundant life Jesus made available for us. What looked like a demotion was actually a setup for a promotion. Always remember, whatever God instructs you to do is never meant to harm you, but to prosper you.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
#wait #expect #trust #faithful #God #keeps #promises #prosper #progress #abundant #life #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Lamentations 3:25-26 AMPC The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God’s word]. It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
28 Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit].
If you’re a believer, you should be living by faith (Rom. 1:17). If you’re operating in faith, you should be expecting something from God. It could be a house, a spouse, a closer relationship with your children, a deeper walk with God, debt freedom, or the manifestation of healing in your body. Regardless of what it is, from the time you prayed, you’re going to have to wait. It could be a day, a week, a month, a year, or years. No matter the time, we’ll have to wait.
There are three kinds of waiters.
- The one who waits, but quits on God when it gets too difficult to wait.
- The one who waits, but waits with a bad attitude. They complain about how long it’s taking and they compare themselves with other people who are getting “blessed.”
- The one who confidently waits, knowing with a rock solid expectation that what they prayed for will come to pass.
Obviously, we should be like the 3rd waiter, but it takes some spiritual maturity to get to this level for everything we’re believing God for.
To gain this maturity, it’s best to find, read, and meditate on scriptures that will encourage you to not give up on God. Scriptures such as, Mark 9:23 “Anything is possible if a person believes” and Mark 11:24 which says, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.
Another way we can grow spiritually is feeding our faith. Romans 10:17 says, so faith comes from hearing the word of God. Find a few good ministers who accurately teach the word of God, so your faith can come and remain.
Finally, get some like-minded believers who can agree with you on your promise (Matt. 18:19).
When we understand who we are and what we have in Christ, we can be like the 3rd waiter. We can wait patiently, without complaining, expecting God to fulfill His word.
#wait #expect #trust #faithful #God #keeps #promises #strength #life #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Psalms 68:35 NLT God is awesome in His sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!
Fatigue, weariness, and exhaustion are real things. When those times come, ask God for power and strength to continue on. If His word says He’ll give it, we would be foolish not to take it.
Like anything else we desire of God, simply ask for power and strength in prayer and, by faith, expect to receive it. We may not feel it immediately, but as we go throughout our day, we’ll realize we’re making it with little to no rest.
So, whether you’re managing a newborn, working lots of hours, or having trouble sleeping, request power and strength from God and believe that it will get you through the day.
#God #gives #power #strength #energy #Jesus #Christ #Spirit #love #others #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Mark 9:25 NLT When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, He rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
Jesus didn’t just heal the boy because He loved Him. He healed the boy to show us what we’re capable of. Remember, in Luke 10:19 He gave us authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing will harm us.
A lot of us read and have head knowledge of this authority, but it’s rarely being applied. Let’s be honest, a lot of us would be frightened if we saw a boy being possessed by a demon. We wouldn’t know what to do. Some of us wouldn’t have known it was a demon. Some of us are so intellectual and not sensitive to the Holy Spirit until we would intellectually deduce the situation as a mental illness. Meanwhile, the boy’s life would be ruined by being sedated and sent off to a mental facility.
When we see strange unusual things out of people, consult with the Holy Spirit on what you should do. He may have you speak to that evil spirit from afar. He may have you walk up to that person and cast that spirit out of them. He may have you remove that spirit by laying hands on that person. Whatever He instructs you to do, do it with boldness and without fear knowing you have the authority over every evil spirit. Don’t just wait for a pastor to deliver them. This authority has been given to every born-again believer. Now, use it.
#God #equips #power #authority #through #Jesus #Christ #stay #ready #peace #equipped #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
The bible lets us know we’ll experience difficult circumstances. We may have to experience a loved one passing. We may have difficulties in our marriage or with our children. We may have health or financial challenges.
When these times come, it would be in our best interest to already be spiritually equipped to handle these difficulties. It makes life a little more difficult if we’re trying to get spiritually equipped while facing life’s challenges.
It’s not the best time to wait until the battle starts to become spiritually equipped. That should have been done when life was going good. That way, when it’s challenge time, we’re ready to rebuke the devil, boldly speak to our circumstances, and stay in faith.
If life’s challenges start you on a journey to become spiritually equipped, so be it. But don’t stop when the challenge is over. Continue to spiritually equip yourself for the next battle. Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.
John 16:33 NLT I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
#God #equips #power #authority #through #Jesus #Christ #stay #ready #peace #equipped #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Acts 3:6 NLT But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Peter gave the lame man what he had. What did he have? The power of Christ. What do we have? The power of Christ. When we make Jesus Lord over our lives, we not only receive salvation, but we receive the power of Christ.
Why don’t we see more of these miraculous events? Because a lot of us can’t truly comprehend inside of every born-again believer is the power of Christ.
Jesus said in John 14:12, very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Peter believed this which is why he was able to heal this man and we should too.
We have been conditioned to think these types of miraculous events won’t happen, will only happen through elite Christians, or happens randomly. If we truly believe Christ’s power flows through us, we’ll unashamedly use it and see miracles.
Meditation on scriptures about Christ’s power flowing through us is necessary to remove all doubt and unbelief from our souls. Let’s do what Jesus called us to do and heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons (Matt. 10:8).
#God #gives #power #authority #through #Jesus #Christ #love #others #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Proverbs 17:15 AMPC He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both an abomination [exceedingly disgusting and hateful] to the Lord.
There are some believers who make it their life’s mission to point out the flaws in other believers, especially if they’re public figures. They’ll get together and condemn ministers, a person’s clothing, songs, a person’s parenting, a person’s shortcomings, and mistakes. Some of them have social media platforms where they have thousands of like-minded followers listening to and agreeing with the condemnation of others.
What they fail to realize is their condemnation of the righteous is an abomination to God. The same abomination they like to use for homosexuals in Leviticus 18:22, is used for anyone condemning the righteous.
When we make Jesus Christ Lord, we become the righteousness of God (Rom. 5:1). If we choose to condemn other believers for their shortcomings we’re disrespecting the sacrifice which made those believers righteous, and we’re making ourselves appear perfect as if we don’t need grace for our mistakes.
Some may say they’re protecting the body of Christ from the people they’re condemning, but if their condemnation isn’t helping the people they’re condemning, they’re being self-righteous and need to repent themselves.
Pray for anyone who is missing the mark or talk to them in love if you can, but never ever condemn.
#uplift #encourage #pray #God #Jesus #Christ #love #others #brandnew #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
John 4:28-29 NLT The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
In the past, we did some things we’re not proud of and some of our testimonies could be considered embarrassing. We’ve lied, cheated, gotten divorced multiple times, had abortions, used or sold drugs, etc. Our pride wants to move on and keep these things in the past, but what if our past could assist in leading someone to Christ? What if our story resonates with someone who’s lost? Would you still keep it to yourself? I’d hope not.
Christ needs to be bigger than our pride. We may not like what we’ve done, but if it can help someone to get to know Christ, what does it matter? We’re not defined by our past anyway.
As a result of the Samaritan woman telling her testimony, many people believed in Jesus. As a result of our testimony, many more people will believe in Jesus.
John 4:39 NLT Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
#share #testimony #God #Jesus #Christ #love #others #brandnew #new #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo #growth
Genesis 26:1 NLT A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.
Genesis 26:12-13 NLT When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.
Logically speaking, Isaac planted his crops at the worst time. He planted his crops during a famine. Isaac wasn’t living by logic. He trusted God and was operating under the blessing (Gen. 25:11).
Although there was a famine, God supernaturally blessed his seed. Isaac not only reaped a harvest during a famine, but he reaped a hundred times more than he planted.
When we’re instructed by the Holy Spirit to sow a financial seed, the timing may not be the best. We may have to pay for daycare, electricity bills, doctor’s visits, or we may want to rebuild our savings. Regardless of the situation, like Isaac, we should trust God and trust the blessing on our lives (Gal. 3:14). As we sow, we should expect a significant harvest. If you’re bold enough, you can be in faith to receive a hundred times more than what you’ve sown.
Don’t let the conditions determine if you sow or how much you sow. Trust that God wants to bless you and will provide a harvest far bigger than the seed you sow.
#confidence #receive #God #Jesus #Christ #love #seed #harvest #manifest #goodness #trust #blessed #blessing #supernatural #manifestations #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo
Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”
Some of us feel like we have time to get right with God. We choose to wait to honor Him because we have all this energy and we see honoring God as settling down.
With this mentality, we do whatever our flesh desires to do. After 10 or more years of living in the flesh, there’s some promises we may have overlooked. There’s some things God wanted to do in our 20’s that we’re just now thinking about in our 40’s. If we would honor God from an early age, we wouldn’t have a life filled with regrets.
Praise God His promises are still available when we choose to honor Him, but think of how much further we would be if we would have just honored Him from an early age. If you’re still living in the flesh now, let go of that lifestyle and choose to honor God.
#blessed #life #honor #receive #God #Jesus #Christ #love #goodlife #joy #peace #blessings #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo
Lamentations 3:23 NLT Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Mercy is where we’re not punished for missing the mark. It’s great to know God’s mercies are new every morning, but there are times where we don’t want to wait until the morning to receive mercy after messing up 2 or 3 times. We want to cleanse our conscience of guilt now.
Through Christ, we don’t have to wait on His mercy. We can receive His mercy anytime we need it. When we know who we are in Christ, we can boldly approach God and receive mercy.
We don’t have to go through life scared something bad is going to happen after missing the mark. Believers are children of God and we’re able to obtain His mercy at any time.
Hebrews 4:16 NLT So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
#confidence #receive #God #Jesus #Christ #love #mercy #joy #peace #goodness #grow #scripture #Word #devotional #devo
Graced To Do God's Will 