A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day – June 18, 2019
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8)
Most of you are aware that I have been preaching and teaching on the goodness of God for the last few months. It’s just one of those things that the Lord has impressed on me to hopefully help people see who God really is. It has changed the way I pray. It has deepened my love for God. It has also shown me more clearly where the fight is in the Spirit.
Our fight is not primarily against flesh in blood: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. (Ephesian 6:12, Amplified
Bible)
Our fight is against all the lies and demonic religious doctrines of the enemy that would heap condemnation and guilt on believers and paint a picture of God that is mean and hateful. Our fight is simply a fight of good against evil and the enemy tries hard to mix the two. God is good and the devil is bad!!! It’s that simple. The thief cometh to kill, steal and destroy. He is bad all the time. Jesus came to give us abundant life, to do good, and to heal all those that were oppressed by the enemy. He is just the opposite from the enemy. He is good all the time!!!
I was recently sharing my thoughts about God’s goodness to a denominational minister and in the middle of my sharing he became angry and said he thought all of my theology, as it relates to this subject, is all messed up. He said he had done a lot of study on theology and he thought my passion about God’s goodness was misguided. Herein is the problem people. Religiously trained people have for centuries wanted to live by the letter of the law. They want to suffer for their misdeeds. They want a God that punishes them for their sins. It is more comfortable and easier to understand if you believe God is responsible for every good and every bad thing that happens. It’s harder to believe that God is good all the time, that He is love, and that His thoughts and desires for us are for good and not for evil or disaster. I think that’s hard for us to understand because we compare it to ourselves and we know that we can never measure up to that perfection, but on the other hand, we are not God.
I listened to Tyler Perry’s testimony the other day and all of you need to hear that because it’s a great story about the goodness of God. Tyler was brought up in a home with a very abusive father, but a loving mother, and Tyler always wondered why his mother would never leave his father. He learned later on in life that his mother would not leave because she did not feel worthy. The constant abuse had made her feel unworthy. That could have easily been the plight of Tyler but for God. Tyler learned that his worthiness had nothing to do with his abusive father but with a Good Heavenly Father that had placed great dreams in his heart. He decided to follow the dreams of a Heavenly Father rather that the abusive words of an earthly father.
Click the following link to watch the interview with Tyler Perry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQtxmxxQjU0
Why do religious people get mad at you when you talk about the goodness of God? Maybe it’s because they feel unworthy. Maybe it’s because they have one foot in the law and one foot in grace. Just remember, the letter of the law killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. I opt for Spirit and life!!! This same fight has been going on since the start of time. We see it in Adam and Eve’s confrontation with the serpent. We see it in the confrontation between Job and his so-called religious friends. We see it in the life of Joseph when he shared his dreams with his brothers. And most of all, we see it in the religious leaders confrontation and ultimate crucifixion of Jesus.
Where are you in this fight??? I declare to you that God is good and the thoughts and plans He has for you are for good.
