Goodness of God

Today’s Encouragement 5/2/2022

Leave a Comment

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me (Psalm 139:17-18 NLT).

There is never a moment when we are not on Papa’s mind. His thoughts about us cannot be counted! Even if you could successfully count grains of sand, that would be only a small portion! We are precious to Him. He is good and kind to us, and His purposes and plans for us are designed with our best in mind. He is a loving and caring Father, one who loves when we come to Him and pour out our hearts, share our joys and our sorrows, or just simply crawl into His lap!

The world desires to encroach on Papa’s territory. Satan’s goal is to stop us from knowing and understanding how fully loved we are and he will grab hold of any opening to do so. Allowing the world to define us, to tell us our worth, to penetrate our thoughts with its corruption is what plants seeds of doubt. Don’t give this world any ground! Resist the devil! Resist those doubtful and faithless thoughts! Remind yourself of God’s word, read it, study it, speak it and live it!

Papa’s thoughts towards us are precious. Live confident in His love and His goodness and kindness towards you!

Today’s Encouragement 4/27/22

Leave a Comment

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1 ESV).

What a profound picture of our Papa! So much of His nature and character in this one sentence, yet Jesus expounded on this as He walked the earth and ministered to people. Shepherds care for and protect their flock. They guide them, lead them and go after those that stray. This is also a perfect example of what Papa does for us!

Papa knows all we need, when we need it and how best to fulfill the need. He also has a supply which never runs out. We have absolutely no need to worry about anything! He has taken care of everything. We simply ask and receive! He’s a Father that gives bread for bread and meat for meat. Expect to have what you need and see how He gives!

Meditate on this verse, lock it in your heart and let it fill your soul. Papa loves you and has only the best for you! Trust Him to provide.

Today’s Encouragement

Leave a Comment

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8-10 ESV).

This coming Sunday we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. However, there is no resurrection without a death. As we look at our verses for today, we see that love is the prevailing virtue. Easter weekend is the ultimate in love.

Jesus Christ loves each one of us so much that He died in our place so we may live eternally with Him. He, Himself, said there was no greater love than to lay down ones life for His friends (John 15:13). He also gave us the commandment to love one another as ourselves.

We live in an era in which love is primarily displayed between people with the same school of thought. General kindness and thoughtfulness towards others is difficult to find on a regular basis. Many people think this is a good thing, but it plight not be so. However, the wonderful thing about Jesus is that when He truly is the ruler of our hearts, we are emboldened to take those little steps of kindness, love and generosity. In doing so, we fulfill the commandments He gave.

I challenge you to begin sprinkling seeds of love, of kindness, of generosity, of encouragement. All the seeds you sprinkle are going to produce a harvest. Let’s make it an abundant one!

Today’s Encouragement 4/6/22

Leave a Comment

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:31-33 NKJV).

Do not worry and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus did not suggest we do this, He commanded. Why? Because our Papa knows all we need before we need it, but the one thing we need most is Him. When we put Him first, before all things, everything else falls into place and into order. Prioritizing our relationship with Him first gives us the perspective to prioritize our earthly needs, wants, and to-do list.

Often we can get stuck in a Martha mindset (Luke 10:38-42), busying ourselves with all that needs to be done or fulfilling our needs. Yet, Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, drinking in every word, savoring His presence and busying herself in enjoyment of Him. When Martha told Him to tell Mary to help her, Jesus said Martha was worried about many things and Mary was doing what was needed.

Doing what is needed is seeking first God’s kingdom, His presence, His power, His glory, His direction, all that He is. Sitting at His feet, drinking in every word He speaks, savoring His presence and busying ourselves in enjoyment of Him then opens the door for provision for every need we have. Put Him first and watch everything else settle into place.