Is God A Good Father?

I think that the Word of Faith people get a bad rap. Don't get me wrong. Many have gone way out of line over the years. Just hear me out on this one issue, and see if you don't agree. Believe me, I've been round and round about this thing in my head many times and I always come back to the same answer for the question, "Is God a good Father, or not?"

For some reason, it's easier for us to believe that God wants us to be poor, like it's some badge of honor or something. For some reason, it's easier to believe that God has made us sick to teach us a lesson. We cringe when we hear preachers talk about how God wants us to prosper and be in good health; that He wants to heal us and see us have good success.

Is God a good Father, or not?

A good earthly parent would NEVER wish sickness and disease on the child that they love, would they?

A good earthly parent takes great delight in their children being successful, fulfilling their dreams and prospering in all that they do, right?

We who are imperfect, fumbling, mistake-making parents, only want the absolute best for our children. How much more do you think God, the perfect Father, wants the absolute best for us? He even says so in His Word.

"Yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant." 

(Psalm 35:27 KJV)

That's pretty clear, isn't it?

Just as I am so over the moon when my children are succeeding, healthy and happy in their lives, when God sees us prospering and being in good health, He is over the universe over it!

Now, be sure that there IS one who DOES want you to be sick and poor and suffering. He is the enemy that Jesus told us about. The one who has made it his mission to come into our lives and steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus said that He came so that we could have life, in abundance, to the full, until it overflows!  

The next time you're tempted to say, "Weelll, God must just be trying to teach me a lesson. This sickness must be God's will for this season in my life." The next time you're tempted to think that lack is a noble thing in the eyes of God, ask yourself this question: "Is God a good Father, or not?"

The answer is a resounding YES! 

 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?  Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!  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)

 

 

Just Wait A Minute

"As many times as you've prayed before, today may be the day when God sends the answer so swiftly--so divinely--that you're windburned." ~ Beth Moore

Do you believe that, beloved? 

I may just be the only one, but if we're honest I think most of us have prayed about some things for so long that we figure "what's the use?" God's answer must simply be no. But what if we started to look at it in a different way? 

Let's allow Joseph to teach us a little lesson on expectancy, lest we're tempted to just give up.

Remember Joseph? 

Thrown in a pit and left to die by his brothers? 

Falsely accused by his master's wife and thrown in prison?

Forgotten by his fellow inmates and left alone?

(Read his story in Genesis 37-50)

One minute he was in a stinky water well, listening to his brothers laughing over dinner above his head, and the next moment, they were pulling him out and putting him on a caravan to Egypt.  

One minute Joseph was going on over two years of being in prison, and the very next moment an official was telling him to get dressed and shaved for an audience with Pharaoh. 

One minute he was interpreting a king's dream, and the very next minute he was in charge of the entire land that had held him prisoner for so long. 

He went from the pit to the prison to the palace, in a series of one minutes. 

You see, you just never know when your "the next minute" is going to be.  

If Joseph had given up hope at any time from the pit to the prison, he may have missed the exact moments of his multiple deliverance's. 

You see, God had a plan and His plan was bigger than anything Joseph could ever imagine.  

He has a plan for my life. He has a plan for your life. 

The very next minute in time, could be the very moment of your deliverance from whatever pit or prison you find yourself in today. 

Hold on to your hat, dear one!

Just Wait A Minute!

"LORD, in the morning you will hear me; 

in the morning I will present my case to you

 and then wait expectantly for an answer."

Psalm 5: 3 NET 

   

 

Does God Really Love Me?

Do you know that God loves you?

No, no, no. Do you REALLY know that God loves you?

Yes, it's something we say, almost a platitude of Christian-speak, and something we know in our intellect. But in our hearts?

Do you really know that God loves you?

If we're totally honest, maybe not. The world's gone mad. Our lives are in chaos at times. Prayers seem to hit the ceiling and go unanswered, right? Satan uses those very things to plant in our minds that God doesn't hear, see, or most importantly CARE about us and our concerns.

Just because that may seem to be the case, it doesn't change the TRUTH!

God loves you. God loves me.

Here's a little exercise that may help you in your questioning today. Let's look at these three little words by emphasizing each one, one at a time, letting the truth of what they say soak in like balm to our aching hearts. Say them out loud. 


GOD loves me.
God. The Creator of the universe. The One Who placed the sun, and the moon, and the stars in the heavens and knows each star by name. The One Who created the earth and the sea and everything in them with just a word. The all-knowing, all-powerful, all-everything God, loves me!

God loves me.
He esteems me. He delights in me. He dances over me. He tenderly cares for me. He loved me before I ever thought about loving Him. He loved me when I was still steeped in my sin. He loved me SO MUCH that He gave His one and only Son for me, to suffer and die on a cross, so He could be with me forever! (John 3:16) That is love that my human mind cannot even comprehend!   

God loves me!
Me. The one who messed up so badly. The one who is ashamed. The one who they abused. The one who is hopeless and helpless to ever do anything right. Me. The one who they call ugly, stupid, never going to amount to anything. Me. With all my blemishes, faults, mistakes, foolishness, pride, selfishness, sin and rebellion! God loves me!

Confess those three little words.

Say, "God loves me. God loves me. God loves me!"

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8: 38-39 NLT

  

Something About That Name

I spoke briefly with a friend after church this week. Her husband is very, very ill and continues to have set back after set back. Literally, this has been going on for months.

She said something that was more full of truth than I think even she realized.

She said, "Sometimes the only prayer I can pray is, "Jesus!"

Is there any better prayer to pray?

Did you know that the Hebrew name for Jesus, "Yeshua", literally means The Lord's Salvation, or 

Salvation from the LORD?

In the midst of our trials, isn't that what we need? Salvation from the Lord? For the Lord to save us?

When our problem has become so out of control and the solution is humanly impossible, we can cry "Jesus!"

When we are weary and tired and just don't think we can keep on for one more day, we can pray, "Jesus!"

When the only thing our body can produce is tears, we can cry with our hearts, "Jesus!"

When His Name leaves our lips, the atmosphere is charged with the words: "Salvation from the Lord", and the power of that Name is not without effect.

Problems are solved. Healing is applied. Provision is made. Protection is given. Demons take their hands off of you and flee for cover.  

Remember, dear one, it may not be immediate, while absolutely, it can be! But in the midst of the waiting, if He doesn't choose to remove the thorn from your side, He will give abundant measures of His grace, that will be sufficient to endure.The very fact that you are still walking around with your sanity, testifies to that!

Weary and weak one. Tired of being tired one. Sweet child of the Living God. Take the Name of Jesus and speak it over your situation. Speak it over yourself and your loved ones. There is power in His Name.

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There's just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away
But there's something about that name."

(Bill Gaither / Gloria Gaither)

Remember Me

If you search your Bible, you will find that every time God "remembered" someone, great things happened.

When God "remembered" Noah, he and his family were saved from the flood.

When God "remembered" Rachel and Hannah, their barren wombs were opened, and they conceived.

When God "remembered" His people, He conquered their enemies in battle.

For thousands of years, God has "remembered" His covenant with Israel, and to this very day they remain as the apple of His eye, and they always will.

To remember means "to have or keep an image or idea in your mind of someone."

As you pray and pour your heart out to God this day, ask Him to remember you.

Great things are bound to happen!

"Can a mother forget her nursing child?

Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?

But even if that were possible,

I would not forget you!

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands."

Isaiah 49: 15-16 NLT