Category: Forgiveness

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Glorious Day!

Yesterday my thoughts stayed focused on God’s Best. Having God’s best for all of my family, friends and those of you who are faithful readers each day.

God always does His best; anything less and He wouldn’t be God. From the beginning of time, He’s shown His best to the world. He said, “light be” and it has never quit shining. He created the animals and separated the dry ground from the waters and those things still remain.

He said, “let’s make mankind in our image” and He did. We are living proof for his creative abilities. We are unique individuals created to show His likeness and love.

“The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is. 3 He is pure, and everyone who has this hope in him keeps themselves pure like Christ.” I John 3:1-3 ERV

Sin came into the world to separate us from the love of God. Satan wanted our worship and allegiance. He wanted to steal our hearts and devotion. God introduced mercy and grace so that we could continue to have relationship with Him.

“But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15 ERV

Our relationship with the Father isn’t based on our efforts; we can’t earn it, but we can receive it as a gift. The gift of life!

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ERV

And this gift of grace is available to everyone, not just a few.

“Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.” I John 2:2 ERV

This truly is God’s best for us!

I came out to the living room this morning, not ready to be about my morning routine. I wanted to lay quietly on the couch just a little bit longer, wrapped in the peace of the moment. Then my heart began to sing an old hymn.

“One Day When Heaven Was Filled With His Praises
One Day When Sin Was As Black As Could Be
Jesus Came Forth To Be Born Of A Virgin
Dwelt Among Men, My Example Is He

(Chorus)Living, He Loved Me
Dying, He Saved Me
Buried, He Carried My Sins Far Away
Rising, He Justified Freely Forever
One Day He’s Coming
Oh Glorious Day, Oh Glorious Day

One Day They Led Him Up Calvary’s Mountain
One Day They Nailed Him To Die On A Tree
Suffering Anguish, Despised And Rejected
Bearing Our Sins, My Redeemer Is He

(Chorus)

One Day The Grave Could Conceal Him No Longer
One Day The Stone Rolled Away From The Door
Then He Arose, Over Death He Had Conquered
Now Is Ascended, My Lord Evermore

(Chorus)

One Day The Trumpet Will Sound For His Coming
One Day The Skies With His Glories Will Shine
Wonderful Day, My Beloved One Bringing
My Savior Jesus Is Mine”

One day – some day – a glorious day, we will see Him face to face but until then we will be examples of His love and grace on the earth!

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Do Your Best

Do your best!

Have you ever said that to your kids, a friend, your spouse or even encouraged yourself to “do your best”? I know you have.

Each time we do something we should be doing our best – even if it’s washing the dishes, cleaning house, working in the garden, preparing a meal and it goes without saying that we should be doing our jobs to the best of our ability.

And what if you were God?

Do you think that He does anything less than His best? I found myself praying that this morning, “Father, do your best.” In praying for my kids and grandkids, my friends and relatives, I don’t always know the details of what they need and so this morning I was just praying that the Father would do His best in their lives today.

I hope that’s ok with you. Some of you need healing, some financial blessing, some need joy, others need rest, some need encouragement while others need a project (to feel helpful). Some need to be free from bitterness, others free from guilt. Some just need a hug and to hear I love you.

So again my prayer is “Father, do your best”. And then I was reminded of these verses – it’s the Father doing His best!

“If you will obey the Lord your God, all these blessings will come to you and be yours:

3 ‘He will bless you in the city and in the field. 4 He will bless you and give you many children. He will bless your land and give you good crops. He will bless your animals and let them have many babies. He will bless you with calves and lambs.

5 He will bless your baskets and pans and fill them with food. 6 He will bless you at all times in everything you do.

7 The Lord will help you defeat your enemies who come to fight against you. Your enemies will come against you one way, but they will run away from you seven different ways! 8 The Lord will bless you and fill your barns. He will bless everything you do. The Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving you. 9 If you follow the Lord your God and obey his commands, he will do what he promised. ‘” Deuteronomy 28:1-9 ERV

Thank you, Father, for blessing my friends with Your best today!

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We Have a Message

Eighteen months ago, Dave and I took the trip of a lifetime. We spent the month of September in Greece. (We are planning on returning to Greece again in the Summer of 2026)

Anyway, one of the islands we visited was Crete. Crete is the largest island in Greece and played a significant role in World War II. But more importantly, it was a central hub for Christianity in the first few centuries after Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

Paul traveled to Crete and evangelized there. When it was time for Paul to travel on, he left Titus, a young protege, there to continue the work of the ministry.

“To Titus, a true son to me in the faith we share together. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

5 I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing what still needed to be done. And I also left you there so that you could choose men to be elders in every town.” Titus 1:2-5 ERV

In Heraklion, the capital city, we visited the Church of Titus. It’s not merely a tourist attraction; it is a place of worship. A place where visitors and locals stop in to pray, a place where regular worship services are conducted. A place where one can sense the presence of the Lord.

This morning, I sat here having my morning conversation with the Lord. I asked Him to form my thoughts and words. I want Him to be honored and glorified through my life and these writings of Paul to Titus came to mind.

Certainly, a mandate for living a godly life.

“Tell them not to speak evil of anyone but to live in peace with others. They should be gentle and polite to everyone.

3 In the past we were foolish too. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to the many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We lived doing evil and being jealous. People hated us and we hated each other. 4 But then the kindness and love of God our Savior was made known. 5 He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit. 6 God poured out to us that Holy Spirit fully through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 We were made right with God by his grace. God saved us so that we could be his children and look forward to receiving life that never ends. 8 This is a true statement.

And I want you to be sure that the people understand these things. Then those who believe in God will be careful to use their lives for doing good. These things are good and will help everyone.” Titus 3:2-8 ERV

Be careful to use our lives for doing good! What a mandate.

I am more aware now than ever before that the Lord wants us to use our lives for His honor and glory. He has equipped us to be His ambassadors on earth.

“…And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him. 19 For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20 We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God. 21 For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! II Corinthians 5:18-21 TLB

What a message we have to convey. God put all our sin on Christ and in exchange He poured all of His goodness, His righteousness, into us!

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He Loved Us First

As we near the end of this month I will take a couple more days of sharing with you about God’s love. Of course, that’s really what I do each day – I really find nothing in the Bible that doesn’t focus on God’s love because God is love.

Even when the Bible gives us correction, it comes from God’s heart; He corrects us because He loves us – but that’s for another day.

“My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

To Love, to Be Loved

17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.” I John 4:7-21 MSG

God’s love for us is unconditional. He loved us before we knew Him. His amazing love sets us free from fear – free for the daily attacks and free from fear of eternity!

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Love Forgives, Love Forgets

I’m not sure how many little hearts there are in this Valentine but let’s use it as an example. Not 490, for sure but just imagine each one of them is an expression of forgiveness.

Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness. Obviously, someone had offended Peter and he wanted to know how often he had to forgive.

“Then Peter came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him, up to seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you, not seven times but seventy times seven! ‘” Matthew 18:21-22 NLV

Seven is a very significant number in the Bible. It is the number of completion so I’m sure that Peter must have thought that forgiving 7 times would be more than enough.

Jesus told Peter that seven wasn’t enough. He needed to forgive the offender as much as 70×7, or 490 times. Jesus wasn’t referring to the actual number of 490 and when offended for the 491st time Peter no longer had to forgive. Instead, it did not matter how great the offence, forgiveness was still required.

Let’s take that number, 490, and apply it literally. With 24 hours in a day, that would mean that we must be willing to forgive about 20 times an hour or once every 3 minutes. Seriously?!

Oh Lord, do you really expect us to forgive that often? His answer is yes!

We are to live a life where forgiveness is abundant. Jesus even prayed to forgive those who were responsible for crucifying him.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.’” Luke 23:34 NLV

It was a part of everything He did. When Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray he included forgiving and forgiveness in that model prayer. You remember he said, “Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us.” Matthew 6:12 ERV

Now for all of you who might be tempted to keep track and start counting we have been given teaching on that too.

“ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.” I Cor. 13:4-7 ERV

I’m so glad that I didn’t write this. I sometimes rationalize and make excuses for not being more forgiving, but God removes all that. I am so glad He does because if I could justify my lack of forgiveness, He certainly would have reason to in judging me for my actions.

Thank you Lord that you don’t! Thank you that You freely give your forgiveness to all of us. Lord, we desire to be more like you. Remind us of the 490 so that we can see just how much You are willing to forgive us each day. Your love never gives up on us. We want to be like you.

“ You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 ERV

Thank you, Lord, that You quit counting. Thank you that You forgave all!

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Such Great Love

I want us to stay with the writings of the Apostle Paul this morning. He shared the message of God’s love with so many people – Romans, Grecians, Turks, Jews. Face-to-face, he told them of the great love of God.

And because of those written words, we are also being taught by him.

“God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 ERV

Jesus told his disciples that He was the Good Shepherd and He would give His life for the sheep. That’s exactly what He did when He died on the cross for us. His words from the cross, “It is finished” meant that the payment for sin, our sin, was complete. Nothing more was required for our forgiveness. No more sacrifice. It was done!

“Christ first said, ‘You don’t want sacrifices and offerings. You are not pleased with animals killed and burned or with sacrifices to take away sin.’ (These are all sacrifices that the law commands.) 9 Then he said, ‘Here I am, God. I have come to do what you want.’ So God ends that first system of sacrifices and starts his new way. 10 Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to do. And because of that, we are made holy through the sacrifice of Christ’s body. Christ made that sacrifice one time—enough for all time.” Hebrews 10:8-10 ERV

When Christ came to earth the Jewish people were making the same sacrifices that had been made since they wandered in the wilderness. Animal sacrifice was required as an atonement or covering for sin. These sacrifices were made over and over again, year after year.

But when Christ came and offered Himself as the spotless, sinless lamb of God all other sacrifices were no longer necessary. One sacrifice was good enough for all time.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world!” John 1:29 ERV

Our sins are gone and we have new life in Christ.

“ You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful…9 God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority…13  You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins. 14  God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:6-15 CEV

I can only give you short pieces of God’s word in our times together each day. I would like to encourage you to read the whole book of Colossians. It’s a short book. Only four chapters but the wealth of God’s love is poured out in a powerful way.

” God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.” Colossians 3:12 CEV

There is no love greater than the love God gives freely to us!

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Seek Jesus

This morning started with a song and then a verse. The song: In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus!

Yes, Father let me see Jesus in His glory and His love. That’s my desire.

Then the verse:

“Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near.
7 Give up your evil ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God.
He will be merciful and forgive your sins.” Isaiah 55:6-7 CEV

Seek is an old-fashioned word. In this translation they use the word turn, in others they use search. The meaning is the same – look for the Lord.

When we rise each morning, we should be looking for the Lord. Great things happen when we seek Him. Let me give you just a few examples.

Of course, the most publicized seeking came from the wisemen. Their journey of searching lasted months, even possibly a year or two. (Matthew 2)

Nicodemus, the religious leader, came to Jesus at night. He was concerned about his reputation. (John 3 spiritual healing)

The woman who had a blood disorder braved the crowds coming to Jesus. (Mark 5 physical healing)

The man with leprosy did the same thing. (Matthew 8)

Then there was the army officer with the sick servant. (Matthew 8)

Let’s see who else sought to be in the presence of Jesus – the man whose daughter died, the demon possessed(emotional healing), the blind and the lame, those who had all kinds of diseases and sickness. They all came seeking Jesus.

Then one of my favorites is Zaccheaus. (Luke 19 healing from greed and dishonesty)

“Jesus was going through Jericho, 2 where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich. 3-4 Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like. But Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree.

5 When Jesus got there, he looked up and said, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry down! I want to stay with you today.’” Luke 19:1-5 CEV

Not once did Jesus turn any of them away. Not once did he say, “You’re not worth it. Go away you’re bothering me”. Jesus came to “Seek and to save the lost”. Luke 19:10

I hope you are saying with me, “in the morning when I rise, I seek You Jesus”. I can promise that when you seek Him, He will find you and life will never be the same.

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A Clear Conscience

We all have things we’ve done that we really don’t want anyone to know about. Simple embarrassing things, mistakes made in our youth and those hidden secrets we don’t want to share with anyone.

We know ourselves better than anyone else. We know our failures and our secret or hidden thoughts. But God knows those too and He has provided a way to be freed from a guilty conscience.

This is a longer read today but I’m sure you’ll be glad you took the time to read it over and let it sink in. Let it bring a change to your way of thinking. You are who God says you are, and He says you can have your conscience washed cleaned. Believe Him!!

“The law gave us only an unclear picture of the good things coming in the future. The law is not a perfect picture of the real things. The law tells people to offer the same sacrifices every year. Those who come to worship God continue to offer those sacrifices. But the law can never make them perfect. 2 If the law could make people perfect, those sacrifices would have already stopped. They would already be clean from their sins, and they would not still feel guilty. 3 But that’s not what happens. Their sacrifices make them remember their sins every year, 4 because it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 So when Christ came into the world he said, ‘You don’t want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. 6 You are not pleased with the sacrifices of animals killed and burned or with offerings to take away sins’. 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am, God. It is written about me in the book of the law.I have come to do what you want.’

8 Christ first said, ‘You don’t want sacrifices and offerings. You are not pleased with animals killed and burned or with sacrifices to take away sin.’ (These are all sacrifices that the law commands.) 9 Then he said, ‘Here I am, God. I have come to do what you want.’ So God ends that first system of sacrifices and starts his new way. 10 Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to do. And because of that, we are made holy through the sacrifice of Christ’s body. Christ made that sacrifice one time—enough for all time.

11 Every day the priests stand and do their religious service. Again and again they offer the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But Christ offered only one sacrifice for sins, and that sacrifice is good for all time. Then he sat down at the right side of God. 13 And now Christ waits there for his enemies to be put under his power. 14 With one sacrifice Christ made his people perfect forever. They are the ones who are being made holy.

15 The Holy Spirit also tells us about this. First he says, 16 ‘This is the agreement I will make with my people in the future, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. I will write my laws in their minds.’

17 Then he says, ‘I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done.‘ 1 8 And after everything is forgiven, there is no more need for a sacrifice to pay for sins.

19 And so, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place. We can do this without fear because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus. 20 We enter through a new way that Jesus opened for us. It is a living way that leads through the curtain—Christ’s body. 21 And we have a great priest who rules the house of God. 22 Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. 23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.” Hebrews 10:1-23 ERV

Don’t struggle with a guilty conscience any longer. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us. God the Father doesn’t have a goodness chart where He checks off our good deeds and weighs them against the wrongs we have done.

No, He has one qualification for the forgiveness of sin. He asks if we have accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. If the answer is yes – we are cleansed from sin. Free to live without fear. And if we haven’t accepted that sacrifice yet you can. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”!

Take a deep breath. Come to God with a sincere heart and be free from a guilty conscience.

That’s how good God is!

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More “Good” News

I’d like to share a story with you this morning that sometimes gets overlooked in the Bible.

John the Baptist and Jesus were second cousins; their mothers Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. John had been raised knowing his purpose in life was to prepare the way for Jesus. When Jesus started in ministry, His first stop was the shores of the Sea of Galilee where He was baptized by John in water and baptized by the Holy Spirit descending as a dove from heaven with the anointing and power of His Father.

John’s testimony of Jesus was great! He spoke with unwavering conviction of the “One coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to unlatch”. John preached with such power against sin that he angered the political elite.

He was thrown in prison by a lust-filled man and a revenge-filled woman.

This is where today’s message begins. John’s followers have come to prison to tell him what they’ve heard about Jesus. So, John sent them to Jesus.

“When these messengers came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the one we should be looking for? Or are we supposed to wait for someone else?’ ”

21 At that time Jesus was healing many people who were sick or in pain or were troubled by evil spirits, and he was giving sight to a lot of blind people. 22  Jesus said to the messengers sent by John, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. Blind people are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People who have leprosy are being healed, and the deaf can now hear. The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news. 23 God will bless everyone who doesn’t reject me because of what I do.” Luke 7:20-23 CEV

Jesus could have answered their question with a simple yes, but he didn’t. He let the miracles tell the story.

The blind see – good news. The lame walk – good news. Evil spirits are being removed – good news. Lepers are being healed – good news. The deaf hear – good news. The dead are raised – good news. The poor are hearing good news.

Good news. Good news to those receiving a touch from Jesus and good news to John who knew the Old Testament scripture about the Messiah.

“The Spirit of the Lord God has taken control of me! The Lord has chosen and sent me
to tell the oppressed the good news, to heal the brokenhearted, and to announce freedom
for prisoners and captives. 2 This is the year when the Lord God will show kindness to us
and punish our enemies.” Isaiah 61:1-2 CEV

The message and ministry of Jesus is just the same today. It’s Good News!

Good news to the sinner and the sick; good news to prisoner and the king. Good news to young and old. Good news!

“The book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He opened the book and found the place where this is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor.
He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again.
He sent me to free those who have been treated badly 19 and to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness.”

20 Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the helper, and sat down. As everyone in the synagogue watched him closely, 21 he began to speak to them. He said, “While you heard me reading these words just now, they were coming true!” Luke 4:18-21 CEV

Good News! Jesus came to tell US the good news!

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Oh My Goodness

When I was a girl I got to watch Shirley Temple movies on television. They were such fun and the story lines were always wholesome. I remember hearing her voice her surprise or excitement with the phrase “Oh my goodness”. This was followed by the cutest expression on her face and twinkle in her eyes.

I think God would like to hear us use that expression a little more often.

Oh my – goodness!

We need to be more mindful of the goodness of God in our lives.

The beauty of the sunset, the coolness of the breeze, flowers in bloom, the majesty of a waterfall. Nature points to the eternal goodness of God. His goodness can also be seen in the touch of a friend’s hand, reassuring us that things will be ok, a miraculous recovery or divine intervention in a dangerous situation.

Oh my – The goodness of God.

“ Don’t be fooled, my dear friends. 17 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. 18 He wanted us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.” James 1:16-18 CEV

Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. We are His children, and He provides for us. Long before these words were written by James, Moses gave this instruction to the Israelites while they were still in the desert.

“He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! 10 And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. 11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.” Deuteronomy 26:9-11a NLT

God is a giver of good things. Jesus told us this about the Father’s heart.

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:9-11 NLT

Then Jesus said this about himself.

“I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully. 11  I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep.” John 10:9-11 CEV

God, the Father, wants to be involved in every facet of our lives – spirit, soul and body. He wants us to receive His gift of eternal life. He gives us peace and He provides for us as His children.

Oh my! The goodness of God!!

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