I know everyone is familiar with the statement “All the time, God is good; and God is good all the time.”
But do we ever really think about what that means?
Psalm 73:1 says “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!”.
People sometimes say, “God was so good to keep my child safe.” or “God was good to heal my friend.”. And He IS good to do those things; but even when He chooses NOT to answer our prayers the way we ask, He is STILL GOOD.
He’s good when He keeps the flood waters out of homes down in Elba; but He’s also good when the flood waters rise.
He’s good when He keeps His hand of protection around people in the storms in Texas; but He’s also good when some of those people lose their lives or their belongings.
He’s good when He heals my friend from cancer; but He’s also good when He takes my dad and my brother home with Him.
God is good because He is. Not because of what He does; not because of how He answers our prayers, saves our family and friends, or because of how He works miracles in our lives.
He is good, just like He is omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful, all-knowing, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega – goodness is one of his character traits.
If He never does another thing for me- He is GOOD. Because He is – it has nothing to do with His actions, or lack of actions.
We’ve got to make our minds up to serve Him because He deserves it, not because of what He does for us.
God is GOOD!
Proverbs 11:7-8
Proverbs 11:7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
These verses pretty well tell it straight up when a wicked person dies there is no more hope for them. Up until that time I believe everyone has the chance to repent and be saved. But again after death if you are not saved there is no second chance and your only expectation is eternity in hell. Verse 18 tells us that though we may go through tribulations because we follow God we will be delivered. We even see in revelation where God saves His people out of tribulation
Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The wicked are left on earth at this time to to deal with all horrors of this time.
Even in the teachings of Proverbs we can see we need to make a decision for Jesus now because we are not promised tomorrow.
Proverbs 11:4-6
Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
For those that know much about the end of times in Revelations all the riches in the world will not do anyone any good because you have to have the mark of the beast to buy and sell anything. The riches we need to obtain is in the righteousness of God in growing as close to Him as we can in wisdom and knowledge. With this we can know that the paths we take will be directed by our righteousness and this righteousness shall deliver us from the snares of the devil. As for those that insist to continue to live a life of wickedness and transgress against the will God and His people will fall by their own doings. Even though we see today plenty of people not living in the will of God and believing nothing bad will happen to them, they are wrong because all will be judged by God and given their just rewards.
In I Thessalonians 5:9 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”
In I Thessalonians 1:10 we read: “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
Proverbs 11:1-3
Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Chapter 11 starts with God telling us to be honest in everything we do not just in weighing stuff but in everything. As the scripture says anything false is an abomination to God. Verse two continues on and talks about pride which is an attribute that is like being dishonest about something because people that are prideful like to think they are right about everything. The scripture says the lowly, but it is the ones that are humble in the sight of God, that are the wise ones.The scripture goes on to tell us that the wisdom that guides them helps them to stay innocent and gives them integrity. Again those that are dishonest or transgressors shal not share in the blessings of God but will be destroyed. We see a contrast in these verses of good and bad, and not just these but others also, that let us know we face choices each day to keep us close to God or turn from Him and the wisdom that we accept from God helps us make the right decisions.
Proverbs 10:31-32
Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.
These last two verses in chater 10 tell us that those that have wisdom are just in what say and because of their righteousness they know what is acceptable. From the things we have learned so for in Proverbs we konw that wisdom is one of the things we need and that what comes out of our mouth is what is in our heart. We also see in these two verses that those that speak against the word of God will be cut off and that the mouth of the wicked will not cease until it is cut off. We can se in two passages in Romans how both of these are illustrated.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Many churchs are having a service this morning so if you can attend one, what better way to celebrate the birth of our savior than give Him praise in His house.
Happy Life: A Note from Hope
Mom says that people could learn a lot, if they’d just pay attention to their dogs. She says we have “joy of life” – I’m not sure what that means, but I think it means that she likes to watch Scout and I run and play. We saw this bird flying from one tree to another this morning and we ran back and forth, watching it; in a few minutes some other birds were flying around with it, and we liked that even more. Then I saw a squirrel run up one tree and jump to another and I was barking and trying to catch it.
Dad says most dogs enjoy every day – on his mail route, he has dog friends at lots of houses.
Dad and Mom both say that if people would try to enjoy the life they have like us dogs do, instead of always wanting something different, they might be happier. They say that us dogs are happy just because…
I don’t know about that; but I do know that a white bag with a “T” and an “S” is sitting in the dining room. I know that means it came from Tractor Supply, which is where our chicken meatballs and peanut butter cookies come from. It smells awfully good – I wonder if Santa brought that to our house last night? I think if Scout and I are very quiet, we might be able to pull that bag down before Dad & Mom find out. Come on, Scout – let’s go see….
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Matthew 6: 25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
Proverbs 10:29-30
Proverbs 10:29 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
For those who follow after God find strength to face anything that Satan can throw at us. This strength helps us not to stumble or fall. Because we walk in the strength of the lord we shall inherit eternal life and always walk with God. For those who insist on doing evil shall only suffer destruction and shall inherit eternal life in hell with Satan. We need to use the knowledge we have to help these that insist on doing evil to find the saving grace of Jesus our Savior. We see in Psalms 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Proverbs 10:27-28
Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
This fear that we see hear is a healthy fear. It is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feeling, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s. When someone is walking in the favor of God they are promised a long life . One place the Bible tells us to expect a long life is the 10 commandments, where it says honor thy father and mother where your days may be long. The wicked have have a different kind of fear because they never know what is going to happen to them next because of their deeds. Even after this life we see the really of the hope we as Christians have in life eternal with our savior which we can rejoice and be glad for. On the other hand the wicked have nothing to look forward to because they have no hope of eternal life in heaven with God.
Proverbs 10:25-26
Proverbs 10:25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
We know that when when a whirlwind comes up it is gone about as fast as it came. It is about the same when someone is trying to cause trouble it comes on strong but when we see that it is not of God it is gone just about as fast. We should know to that the foundation of our belief is built on the rock of salvation from Jesus that will stand forever. We can see in the next verse that just as vinegar can cause damage and destruction to the teeth and smoke can cause our sight to be hampered. This causes us discomfort just as someone who is lazy is sent to do a job and they do not do it. Can you imagine how God feels when He ask us to a job and we do not do it?We need to stay strong so we do not allow anything to damage our testimony. 1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 10:23-24
Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
We see now that God will supply all our needs and then some. We know from some of the people from the Bible that those following God were very wealthy even the one that wrote this book and it also says God will not add any sorrow to it. If we have any problems with the wealth God gives us, spiritual or physical, it is not by God but by our own mistakes.Verse 23 we see that the fool is all about seeing how much trouble he can get in and it is because he lacks the wisdom that God has given to a man of understanding. Because of this the fool is someone who finds pleasure in getting into trouble and getting others in trouble. Lastly we know that fear is not God but one of those things that Satan uses against people. The wicked fear the punishment that is coming their way because they know they deserve it. Now we know that God grants the desires of the righteous if they ask and believe. James 5:16 we read that God answers the prayer of the righteous.”Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”