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Goodness of God – Part 2

Jesus is our good news. He is the Word, and every Word out of His mouth—written and revealed—is an expression of His goodness (Strong’s #2097).

He calls us to “…Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous” (Ro 12:9 TPT). To “hold on to what is good” (1 Th 5:21).

We can experience God’s goodness of new (eternal) life when we call upon His Name and walk in agreement with Him (Ro 10:13).

James 1:17 TPT reminds us of His faithful and complete grace being worked out in our lives by saying, “Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change.”

I love how King David expresses His praise for our Lord in this regard by saying, “What a glorious God! He gives us salvation over and over, then daily he carries our burdens! Our God is a mighty God who saves us over and over. For the Lord, Yahweh, rescues us from the ways of death many times” (Ps 68:19-20 TPT). “Yahweh,” he sings, “you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me” (Ps 103:2 TPT)?

Life is always about glorifying God. Even in the midst of what we endure, redemption rules. Our God made us conquerors in advance, and faith is our “standard of measurement” (1 Jn 4:4, Ro 12:3 TPT). So, let the redeemed say so.

I believe we are in a special time of redemption—a time where we will see greater forms of prosperity pursue “the God-lover,” those who responded to God’s Word by clinging to it and keeping it dear as they endured difficult circumstances in faith. I believe God will bless them outwardly in many ways, as a reflection and a fulfilling of John 10:10 and John 15:5 abundant life (Pr 13:21, Lk 8:15).

Psalm 84:11 AMP assures us that “…the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord bestows grace and favor and honor; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Romans 8:31-34 NIV asks us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

His higher, eternal life flows from righteousness and justice by grace as God’s people submit to Him by His life-giving faith and do not surrender to evil out of fear (Is 32:1-2 TPT).

1 John 4:18 AMP reminds us that “There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].”

Nothing can separate us from this perfect, unlimited love as we trust God to protect and bless us (Ro 8:38-39, Pr 30:5).

Romans 8:37 TPT affirms this by saying, “Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!”

I love what Moses said to Joshua before Joshua was about to enter into God’s greater promises. Moses said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (De 31:7-8 ESV).

I love how God is with us where we are and also out in front of us simultaneously, waiting for us to step further into the unique destiny He has for each of us.

God is our Commander of Angel Armies, a shield. He protects us, delivers us, spares us, and rescues us, “just as a bird hovers over its nest to protect its young” (Is 31:5 TPT).

In this way, He has been traversing us through former places into His greater promises. He has been fortifying and guiding us as He purifies our souls. Safely crossing us over into a more advantageous position that requires us to follow Him even more closely.

So, let’s always reach for Him. Living life in the fullness of God without compromise is where the higher life is. He desires to bless us with His stores. So, let’s choose Him and His standards and ways above lesser ones and prove victorious. Let’s think honorably and do good (2 Co 8:21, 13:7; He 13:16).

Remember that “Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor” (Pr 11:25 TPT).

So, Lord,

Help us to be Your hands and feet. Help us to “show mercy to the poor and not miss an opportunity to do acts of kindness for others, for these are the true sacrifices that delight” Your “heart” (He 13:16 TPT).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Amen.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Goodness of God – Part 1

God is good no matter what we experience or do, even when we operate in self-justified sin. But, as we look to His beauty and trust and obey Him, we can see His goodness progressively in our lives.

He will fulfill His divine promises to us and bring us into abundance as we follow our Good Shepherd (Jesus) and do life His way (Jn 10:11).

Deuteronomy 30:8-9 NLT says that when we obey Him, “The LORD your God will then make you successful in everything you do…”

So, if you are a person who has a hard time depending on anyone, the good news is that you can always count on God, even when people fail you, because He is faithful to His Word.

Psalm 107:9 TPT assures us of this by saying, “How he satisfies the souls of thirsty ones and fills the hungry with goodness!”

God invites us to feast at His table, to partake in all He has for us—His fruit of Spirit and earthly inheritance as He wills.

There is no shortage in God’s Kingdom. He gives good gifts to His children who ask, and those gifts are always better than what we think we want on demand (Matt 7:11).

Many already know this truth and shine with praises to God as loving Father.

Psalm 89:1 TPT says, “This forever-song I sing of the gentle love of God! Young and old alike will hear about your faithful, steadfast love—never failing!”

“For he has conquered us with his great love, and his kindness has melted our hearts. His faithfulness lasts forever, and he will never fail you” (Ps 117:2 TPT).

Psalm 52:1 ESV reminds us that “The steadfast love of God endures all the day.”

It is from this enduring, everlasting love that His goodness prevails.

God’s goodness is His intrinsic moral excellence (Strong’s #19). This Fruit of the Spirit in us is what enables us to do good. It’s what makes us useful and well-fit for Kingdom purposes and is void of harshness (Strong’s #5544). God’s goodness is full of benefit and is for our welfare (Strong’s #2896).

God’s Word is filled with His goodness. His (good news) gospel is more than the first four books of the Bible. Every Word from His Spirit is gospel—written and revealed—because His Word brings life to us when we receive His invitation for all He desires to give us by faith.

God has been carrying us through opposition into our land of Promise. The Word Holy Spirit gave to me in early September was “traverse.” He has been traversing us, as in defending us and moving us along by His amazing grace-power.

People who share in God’s heart of love, especially get to participate in His victory of goodness. Those who learned to fight in the Spirit, above the flesh, are now being delivered into their promises. As they learned to trust and believe that God’s power carries weight and that they don’t have to add any false weight of harshness (Ro 12:21).

1 Corinthians 2:9 AMPC says, “…What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. [Isa. 64:4; 65:17.]”

Even if you don’t feel like you are on the winning edge right now, you are still one of these people as you turn your heart toward God.

2 Corinthians 7:10 TPT tells us that “God designed us to feel remorse over sin in order to produce repentance that leads to victory. This leaves us with no regrets. But the sorrow of the world works death.”

God assures us of this victory promise in Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV, which says, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

As we trust God for our bright future He has stored up for us, waiting to be released, He offers us a key strategy in Isaiah 41:10 TPT, which says, “Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with my strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with My victorious right hand.”

Pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You that You love me enough to not leave me in a lifetime of harsh regret. Thank You that Your written Word offers me examples of Your righteous goodness and that, by Your Spirit, You will deliver me into it fully. This day, I hand You my sorrows. I confess my selfish wrongdoing and turn toward You to restore my life. You say in Psalm 6:4 TPT that when I turn to You that You will “rescue my life because I know Your faithful love will never fail me.” So, I am asking You to rescue and restore my life to Your higher place of holiness, filled with abundant blessings. I surrender my ways to Yours and invite You to do that which only You can do in me, for me and through me.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

Now, “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope” (Ro 15:13 AMPC).

To God be the glory.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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New Life – Part 3

Our Lord spoke to my heart recently, revealing that He is bringing us into overflow as we remain on the narrow path He has set us on—the path that requires our focus, time and co-labor with Him.

He revealed to me that, where we have walked a narrow path in the past in terms of our commitment of heart and discipline that led to tangible success by His grace, this new path is one He will use to facilitate greater measure as we continue to obey Him.

As we walk this narrow path with Him, our Lord will prepare us for our years ahead by tempering us now for the things He will bring around again and make new to us.

Right now, He is giving us time and space to setting some things, refine us and align us. Along this current, new path, He is offering us grace to recover when we mess up in the form of another opportunity to get it right.

In all of this training, He will offer us His very best, and those who refuse to settle for less will receive it.

As we progress with Him, the word “first” is key. First as in first-rate. Our Lord is lifting us above areas where we have settled for second and even felt second in the past by extending us grace to catch up and not lag behind anymore in thought, expectation, deed and relationship.

As we have sought God first, made Him our center and followed Him, our Lord has been establishing us in first place all along. As we continue to come up higher, and as He continues to work His standard of righteousness in and through us, He will also put first-rate surprises in our hands, and He will release us into manifest first-place positions in new areas as He does the impossible by His grace working on our behalf.

I believe this is all leading up to a time, that’s just a few years in front of us, a year of Jubilee, where many people’s lives will pivot dramatically as our Lord brings important changes and shifts us into high gear, enabling us to receive greater, next-level blessings and to give more blessings—bigger and better than we ever have.

God has redemption rainbows for us, where we enter into the divine promises that await us with new life—the overflowing, abundant life. Our glorious rewards for enduring storms (Ro 8:17).

When the time comes, we can expect to see more redemption established in our lives. This will include a new circle of people, a new direction, a new destination. Some elements will be old things made new by God over time and reconnected to us as covenant connections.

God is building us right now by training us to wait for the right things, the promised things, including timing, people and opportunities. He is working to settle some things and build a strong foundation so we can be made stable forward. He is using small things to illuminate our weaknesses for the purpose of running to Him for the strength of His righteousness. His desire is to sustain us for greater.

He will be specific in His instructions to us as we walk this journey with Him. Just like our Ruth and Naomi story from Parts 1 and 2 of this series, where Naomi’s homeland was made new to her as she came around again, faith, hope and love never let go of her in the journey.

1 Corinthians 13:8 AMP reminds us that “Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]…”

Those who have walked a narrow path with Him before know that the aloneness with God in the assignment will prove peaceful, empowering and priceless. We must remember that it isn’t solely about us. Once we arrive at our destination, there will be an outflow, an expanse that will bless multitudes.

So, friends, what form of redemption is God working in you right now to strengthen you for a greater future?

What does He have stored up just for you?

What directives has He given you to receive these blessings?

What is He releasing now into your hands that will help position you?

For Ruth, it was wheat in a field that she would soon own. Ruth went from being a foreigner to being invited to being married to being a landowner and then a mom. She and Naomi were a family restored and expanded, progressively united in old positions and in an old place—all made new to them.

God made it right again for them and even better than before, as they pressed forward to their finish line.

Psalm 92:13-14 TPT says, “You’ve transplanted them into your heavenly courtyard, where they are thriving before you, for in your presence they will still overflow and be anointed. Even in their old age they will stay fresh, bearing luscious fruit and abiding faithfully.”

God is doing the same for us today. He is making us a reflection of His goodness and able to sustain greater blessings. (Is 46:4). As we commit to abide in Him, He promises we will see the fruit. He has provided timelines and markers along the way.

Jesus says in Mark 1:15 TPT, “…It is time for God’s kingdom to be experienced in its fullness! Turn your lives back to God and put your trust in the hope-filled gospel!'”

So, friends, let’s keep pace with our Lord and win this race.

To God be the glory.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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New Life – Part 2

Colossians 1:6 TPT says, “…Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.”

“For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption” (1 Co 1:30 TPT).

So, as we remain close to our Lord in Word and Spirit, as we focus on the eternal and extend our faith for new life, God’s Spirit-life in us will be imparted into our souls. By His Spirit, He will nourish us toward the outward fulfillment of His abundant new life for us (2 Co 4:18, Jn 10:10).

We are bound to God’s righteousness and, therefore, His abundance as we choose to obey Him.

Romans 11:18 TPT reminds us that we owe our lives to the root that supports us. He alone is our life source.

Our key scriptures for this series are Proverbs 4:20-22 TPT, which instructs us to “Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being.”

In this verse, to “unwrap” means to discover, to find.

So, just like Naomi and Ruth discovered new life as they came into agreement with God’s leading, so can we. 

As they went forth together in faith, hope and love, Ruth discovered new life with Boaz. And Naomi discovered new life through the gift of a son. Through their journey of faith, God built and established their new lives. He even made that which was old to Naomi—meaning her homeland—new again to her.

But even before this manifest renewal, Ruth followed God’s wisdom through Naomi. And Naomi stepped forth, encouraged by Ruth, out of the death of bitterness into God’s greater goodness.

Ruth, who reflected new life to Naomi, didn’t give up on her in her bitterness, just like God doesn’t give up on us when we feel like we’re in a dead place.

Ruth wisely obeyed God’s wisdom and received the new life God had for her as her faith manifested in the form of marrying Boaz. Then she gave it back to Naomi generously in the form of a new son.

Proverbs 11:25 reminds us that “Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor.”

God gave life generously to Ruth and Naomi through each other in different ways.

These two wise women abided with their life-giving God and lived fruitfully again as a family restored in Naomi’s homeland.

So, we see here that, no matter what we’ve been through, God doesn’t leave us at dead! He is Creator of our life cycle, Master at making all things new. We need only to trust Him and put righteous action to our faith.

We need to depend on God’s new life in us in order to continue onward and work optimally.

Jeremiah 17:7 AMP says, “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.”

Colossians 3:16 TPT says, “Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom…”

Therefore, we must continue to feed on God’s Word, which imparts continual life and keeps us aligned with Him in every way, enabling us to experience a renewed mind and abundant life—all free from sin’s power (1 Co 2:16, 2 Co 5:17, Ro 6).

I believe “…it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to” us (Ep 4:23 TPT).

I believe it’s time to shed old wine skins and align with God by faith and action, to be more fully alive and step out into the new that God has for us with greater clarity.

I believe God may give us flashes of understanding about former people and situations, so we can more easily release them to Him (2 Co 10:4).

I believe God is freeing us from fixations on wrong things and offering us grace to move forward more fully with Him to become more established in His new life for us as master overcomers, who rule from the root, to the foundation to the ascended life with Christ.

I believe God is inviting us up higher by giving us opportunities with new people in new arenas to practice what He instilled in our souls in the last season for righteous decision-making, having been trained by patience, having expressed gratitude and having been led by peace.

I also believe it’s important to keep pace with our Lord as He has assigned us, so we can better receive His fulfillment coming into place just ahead (Ac 20:24 TPT).

Our focus and faith must be on and in Him.

Let’s remember Ruth, who reflected new life and was an example of 2 Timothy 2:22 TPT, which says, “Run as fast as you can from all the ambitions and lusts of youth; and chase after all that is pure. Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit. And live in peace with all those who worship our Lord Jesus with pure hearts.”

As we run for a crown of life (1 Co 9:25) into our new glory with our Lord, let’s also remember God’s Word in Song of Songs 2:13 TPT, in which He asks and instructs us, “Can you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? The early signs of my purposes and plans are bursting forth. The budding vines of new life are now blooming everywhere. The fragrance of their flowers whispers, ‘There is change in the air.’ Arise, my love, my beautiful companion, and run with me to the higher place. For now is the time to arise and come away with me.”

Join me next week for Part 3 of New Life.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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New Life – Part 1

Proverbs 4:20-22 TPT invites us to “Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being.”

These verses are part of the living Word of God that impart wisdom for new life as we listen to and receive from Holy Spirit.

One of my favorite Bible examples of new life is the story of Naomi and Ruth.

Their story involves the Good News (Gospel) of grace helping them move forward from bitterness to love, from death to new life.

These wise women understood that their deceased husbands were seeds planted and that God had more redemption and resurrection life for themselves on earth (1 Co 15:36).

In His wisdom, God led them to return to Naomi’s homeland of Bethlehem. He was about to make what was once old, new for them. Their journey was purposed for abundance in ways they had yet to discover.

So, by faith, these wise women relocated from a dead end into a new beginning. And like them, when we walk by faith and not by sight, we receive God’s (zóopoieó) life into our souls (Strong’s #2227). This is a quickening that aligns us to live with God, not just for Him.

Ephesians 3:17 TPT says that “…by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.”

Many of us have tasted bitterness like Naomi. We may have even had to intentionally choose to rejoice above pain so that the bitterness would not take root in our souls (Ga 5:17). Like Naomi, we may have had to keep believing God’s root and foundation of love above the resistance of bitterness until it passed from us completely.

For Naomi, the moment she made the faithful decision to go and return home was the moment new life was put into motion for her (Strong’s #72).

As for younger Ruth, she was wise to trust Naomi’s decision and accompany her.

Metaphorically, Ruth represents victorious love not letting go of us in our darkest hour, guiding us further into the light of Christ, blessing us with every good thing we need, even when our current situation looks otherwise hopeless.

Youthful Ruth represents hope against hope to believe we will experience God’s promise of new life and a good ending.

These wise women understood that life wasn’t over for them, that God would make it better than before and that it was a whole new beginning.

So, friends, what new thing is God doing in your life?

New can reference time, as in a new season. It can mean youthful or even born again, as it pertains to people; or fresh as it pertains to things, including development or opportunity. It can also mean new in quality, as in innovation. It can reference form, as in unused, unworn or superior to what it succeeds. It can reference substance, as in uncommon or unheard of. New can reference a recent discovery. (Strong’s #3501, #2537).

Like Ruth and Naomi, we can walk in this uncommon faith for God’s fresh start and renewal of life (Strong’s # 2538).

We can discover our best lives yet.

We can experience a new way of life by Holy Spirit’s leading and training (Strong’s #72).

We can model our lives by love and endurance.

Faith in our Lord, who is our Life-Giver, aligns us with His fresh vision and new life (Lk 18:42).

In Matthew 11:29 TPT, Jesus says, “Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.”

Ephesians 4:24 TPT reminds us “to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness.”

So, friends, we can trust Him for the transformation that brings new life and rest with Him in the process. Because God has more life for us ahead. He’s just beginning to set us on a new path. And He desires to establish us in better over bitter by His love.

“Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you,” according to Ephesians 4:23 TPT.

Pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your fresh grace that offers new opportunities and new life to me. Where there has been upset, please give me a re-set and make my life upright. I invite You to straighten and clear out my pathways—spirit, soul and body—to align me more with You, as You cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Where there has been runaway failure, please help me to return home to You, knowing You will make what’s old new again. Help me to take hold of courage and run with You in victory. Help me take actions that foster life. Thank You for loving me enough to escort me into better.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

Join me next week for Part 2 of New Life.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.