Is God Really Good?

24 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by eisakouo in Luke, Our Spiritual Process

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bad things happen, basic lessons of life, calling God good, clearer picture of God, complaining, discerning good and bad, doubting the goodness of God, goodness of god, Jesus, Luke 18, only seeing bad, opinion of God, Plutarch quote, reality check, reason prayer fails, rich young ruler, suffering, thankful, tragedies

A young man tried to call Jesus “good” one day. We don’t know his motivations. Maybe he was flattering the Lord or maybe he honestly saw Jesus as being good. Jesus didn’t let the compliment sit. He corrected him. In all of Jewish history no rabbi was ever called “good“. This title was reserved for God and God alone. In the English language “good” and “God” are interchangeable. It is the extra “o”.

Jesus wanted to know why the young man called Him “good.” Jesus has a way to get to the heart of any issue. I don’t think Jesus was denying His Deity… He simply wanted this young man to give further thought on what he just said. Have you ever called something “good”, but knew in the moment you were making an over-exaggeration? The noun good in modern vocabulary gets tossed around far too often. It really doesn’t mean much anymore. Jesus was basically saying, “If you want to call Me good, then you must be willing to call Me God. If you will not call Me God, then you can’t call Me good!” In other words for Jesus, knowing God as being truly good was serious business. Jesus knew if a person knew God, they also knew good. If a person couldn’t discern good, it meant they didn’t know God.

In your estimation… has God always been good to you? Are you willing to call Him good, right now, in all things?

The “goodness” of God is one of the first and basic lessons we learn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stick to us throughout our life. We have to relearn this lesson time and time again… I know I have had to start over. Your first prayer over meals was probably something like this… “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” Did you ever learn the chorus: “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me?”

We are told things like this as children and then the hard realities of life kick-in and we begin to wonder if God is really good. The Bible constantly reminds us of God’s goodness. But just because the scriptures speak of something often, doesn’t mean it seeps down into our innermost being.

Here is the point… Continually being able to discern God’s goodness can prove to be difficult for many people. Sometimes we don’t see, detect, or even discern the goodness of God in certain situations, especially when something bad happens to us personally. When we experience a heartache, a tragedy or disappointment … it appears as though God isn’t so good. Why? Good is not happening to me!

If God is so good, then why do tragedies happen?
If God is so good, then why did my dad die of cancer or my mom develop Alzheimer’s?
If God is so good, then why is there so much suffering in the world, right now?
If God is so good, then why do bad things happen to “good” people?
In fact, why does bad even have to exist?

Let me say, it is easy to see bad. I can have a thousand good things happen to me in one day and only focus upon the one bad problem. As I type this blog, it is 77 degrees and feeling nice… but I know I haven’t thanked the Lord for any of the good things He has given me today. Part of our problem is we spend too much of time complaining about the bad things around us and never spend a nanosecond thanking the Lord or rejoicing over the good we know He provides. If you are one of those people who can only discern the “bad” issues of life, you have larger issues which need addressing. True discernment detects both good and bad… and discerns the source.

I am going to discuss this more in my next blog but if you struggle with discerning the good and bad of life… maybe it is time to start over and get a clearer picture of God. You need an update! Your files have become corrupted. If the Bible is correct and God is indeed good, then no one can know true good without Him. He is our definition. He is our compass. He is our Northern Star. If we don’t know Him or understand Him, then we cannot truly know what is good. If we don’t really understand good, then we cannot detect bad either. Sound crazy? Stick with me because I believe this is one of the major reasons most believers don’t get immediate answers to their prayers…. they inwardly doubt the goodness of God. Yeah, Yeah… they say God is good, they sing it, and they even speak and teach it. The problem is …. inwardly they doubt it! In other words, they don’t believe in a good God. Nothing will cause your prayer life to sink, stink, or come to a crashing halt like doubting the goodness of God.

Hey, you either pray to a good God or you don’t. It is this cut and dry. More next time.

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

The High Cost of Low Level Complaining (Part 3) It Brings Chastisement

31 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Dying to Self

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another brick in the wall, challenged the throne of God, check your mouth, complaining, confess your sin, defection of the heart, discipline, gormandize yourself, graves of lust, jealousy and disbelief, manna, meat, Numbers 11:18-33, plague, quail, roots, satan, sick, Thomas Fuller quote

I am wrapping-up this three-part series on complaining with a somber note. I don’t believe God ever wants to discipline His children. As every parent knows, sometimes godly discipline is the best course of action. While we might not think complaining is a serious issue, God does. Why? Because low-level complaining is a heart issue. Complaining is an activity Satan participated in when he challenged the throne of God. When we revel in venting our displeasure, we mimic the demonic world. Thus a wall begins to grow between us and the Lord. Every time we choose to complain, gripe, and grumble, we lay another brick in that wall. Since complaining is a heart-issue… it develops into other sins. Complaining leads to rebellion, passing judgment on others, greed, jealousy, and disbelief. What we do not realize is a complaining spirit has roots which grow quickly into the fabric of our hearts. This wicked spirit eventually takes over and permeates our life. God knows the only way to correct the issue is by discipline and chastisement.

God Takes Action…The People Became Sick

18 Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” Numbers 11:18-20

How did God know the people would get sick eating meat? It wasn’t tainted. It was good meat. The Lord knew they would treat the quail like they treated the manna. They would run, snatch, and grab. Each quickly grabbed up 10 homers…that is 10 donkey loads. As one commentator noted, a homer is an “ass load.” What a description. They spread their loot around camp and commenced eating.

Have you ever fasted for any length of time? I have. It is always a delicate issue coming off a lengthy fast. My stomach always needs a transition period. If I stuff my belly full after fasting… I will be one sick puppy on the backside. God knew his children would sicken themselves. God didn’t have to do anything… He simply didn’t warn them about the dangers of eating too much… too fast. They had a steady diet of manna for a while. He knew they would gormandize themselves with the new-found meat. They did! Moses and the nation buried these folks where they died. Listen to the description….

33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. Numbers 11:33-34

For the record, not everyone was struck with this plague. Only the greedy were touched by it. They named this burial site, “the graves of lust” or “graves of those which lusted.” How would you like this epitaph on your marker? As noted before, complaining doesn’t evaporate into thin air. Complaining leads to “bigger and badder” sins. It causes a defection of the heart. God knows it must be dealt with immediately or our sin will eventually affect our family, church, friends, and world.

The good news is you can do something about a complaining spirit right now. You can confess your sin and ask God to help you check your mouth and heart. He will. The Holy Spirit will remind you early and often when that ugly spirit begins to rise up with in you. Take action do today… while it still is today.

Blessings,

Pastor