I Did It For…

Most of us can agree that if we do good, kind, loving things in order to please men, we’re missing something. But is it much different if we do those same things for the purpose of being personally rewarded in Heaven?

Unlike Him

We’ve been talking about being like Jesus lately and today I came across a thought from E. Stanley Jones, Mr. Jones contends that if our standard of goodness is Jesus (and it should be), then any departure from that goodness is sin or in other words anything that is un-Jesuslike is sin. Which brings us back to abiding; He’s in us we just have to get better at less us.

Unfortunately

As we said yesterday, everything good comes from the Lord even the great things that come from those that are unaware of Him. Unfortunately the opposite is also true. We that know Him are just as capable of making poor choices as anyone and while it’s true that we are unable to live perfect lives now, it’s also true that there is no bad decision that we have to make. He’ll always help us find His way.

Good

There is nothing good apart from God but there’s ton’s of good unaware of Him.

God is Real

God is real, we should be too.

We shouldn’t be afraid to share ourselves with each other, the good, the bad and the ugly. Imperfection is something we all have in common so there’s no need to hide it.

A Look Back

Another year has come and gone and like all the years before, God has proven to be trustworthy. Somehow He showed Himself in completely unique situations. He was there in the good times and in the bad and was always willing to bear the burden if we would let Him. He provided in miraculous ways and as recently as today surprised us with more than we could ask for.

Thank you for the encouragement, support and friendship you have so graciously sent our way this year. I am continually amazed that you would take the time read this. If there is anything I can ever help with please don’t hesitate to ask.

Your friend,

Jim

Good

“I used to think God was good some of the time, but now I know He’s good all of the time.” – Bob Goff, Love Does

Isn’t it a shame when an amazing truth somehow gets watered down from overuse? It doesn’t make it any less true though. God’s goodness is constant. Therefore we can absolutely trust Him all the time. Rain or shine, good times and tough times God is always at work with our ultimate good in mind and on the horizon. Now that’s worth getting excited about.

Choosing

Today most of us have the opportunity to choose our attitude. Will today be crappy or will we find the good amidst the rubbish? There’s never a shortage of things to complain about and sometimes we have to look really hard to find the beauty. But it’s there and well worth finding.

Undeserving

Many people keep God at a distance because they think they are unworthy or undeserving of Him. Come on, have you seen the rest of us? We’re all a mess! But we’re His mess and there is nothing He enjoys more than jumping into the chaos of our lives and helping us make sense of it all. At what point would we be “good enough”? No one knows us better than He does and there is nothing more amazing than seeing Him take our weaknesses and turn them into our greatest strengths. Our efforts to fix ourselves will always fall short if we leave Him out of the process.

The Tree

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was placed in the Garden as choice. Without choice love is not possible and God so wants us to love. He enjoys loving us so much that He couldn’t have allowed us to only be recipients but wanted us to know the joy of being givers.