by abazgrl (juanita weiss) at www.weissministries.com

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (Psalm 136:1 boldface added).
That is what the psalmist declares, and that is what we must believe if we are to serve Him — that God is GOOD.

I remember when teaching World Literature in high school, we read myths and stories from different cultures about the origin of the world. Most of the gods depicted in those stories were not omnipotent. One of them, for example, needed the help of animals to create the world. Most of the gods were not omniscient. One god could be tricked to get into a box and to have his opponent nail it shut so that he could not get out. Most were not benevolent — they were petty, mean, and spiteful. Some duped the humans they made, or sent wild animals to devour them, or used them as pawns — like chess pieces.

Only our God is good. Let’s establish this first — There is no other god, but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The psalmist stays, “All the gods of the nations are idols, but Yahweh created the heavens.” Then to trust Him or believe Him or to love Him or even to know Him, we must get past this one fundamental fact about God: HE IS GOOD!

I know. The world is a mess! The History of mankind is crazy! People are mean! Your house is in foreclosure. Your children are incorrigible! Your marriage is on the rocks! Your future looks bleak! AND you must get to the fact that GOD IS GOOD. His goodness is not predicated upon the things that are going on around us! He is good when everything is bad! He was always good and will always be good!

He gives us free will so that we can make choices — even the choice not to serve Him or to even believe that He is good! Amazing!

We have the only God who condescended to instill the essence of His goodness not only into human language but into human flesh. Then He subjected himself to the ills of these creatures He made so that they would know that He loved them. Then He died in their place so there would be no doubt and no obstacle to this love. Yes, indeed, God is good!

Whether his goodness is reflected in the bluegrass tunes of Don Moen, or the sweet, passionate voice of Kari Jobe, or the soulful, joyous melodies of Israel Houghton, they all declare the same thing: “GOD IS GOOD”! Enjoy the music:

By Abazgrl — Weiss Ministries

“I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about myself that is not in God‘s heart about me.” — Bill Johnson

I don’t know about you, but based upon this amazing truth, I should be on my knees, repenting right now. And I do! I am! I have! When we are covered under the blood of Messiah, we are new creatures. I am so longer that degenerate creature I used to be. I am forgiven! I am seated with Messiah in heavenly places. I am redeemed. I am the righteousness of God in Messiah. I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. I am a daughter of God! I am an overcomer . . . more than a conqueror. Not only me, but you are too. And the list goes on . . .

Here’s another truth that is just as convicting, but deeply healing:

“I cannot have my mind work against the will of God!” — Bill Johnson

That’s what happens when our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. Our minds work against the will of God in our lives. Do you understand what we have to do? While the Republicans and Democrats are arguing about who has won the battle over the budget and Planned Parenthood, we have people — yes even believers — whose homes are being foreclosed, who are being laid off, who have to debate between paying a bill or putting food on the table, who can’t afford the gas to get to work! Some are crumbling under the weight of their problems and they need US to tell them that God loves them . . . that the only sure footing in this world is Yeshua!

Father, forgive me for thinking that I was less than what you say I am. I repent! I take up this charge that you have given me to share your love with a dying world. I can only do it if I see myself the way you do. Help me to see myself and others with your eyes. In Yeshua’s Name. Amen.

In our study of the epistle to the Romans, there is one Scripture that jumped out at me. I hope to make it part of my memory Scriptures. It’s something we all know as believers, but the simplicity of it is quite freeing. The verse is Romans 14:19 — “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification (NIV).”
So I want to encourage you today.
Do What Leads to Peace: What ever you do, make sure it leads to peace. That means what you want is not important. That means you love your brother or sister (who may have offended you) more than you love being right. That means you stop having unrealistic expectations of other people, trying to get them to meet the needs that no one else will be able to BUT God. That means we follow the example of Yeshua — your ministry is always “other-oriented.”

Do What Leads to Mutual Edification: That means if what you say or do does not edify (build up) your brother or sister, don’t do it. Okay, drinking that glass of wine may not be sin for you, but it may be for your brother or sister. So what do you do? Well, Paul in Romans 14 tells us clearly, don’t do it! Yikes! I’ve got my own life to live! Wouldn’t I just be a hypocrite if I drank with other believers and not in front of him/her? Paul says you’re not. He says you are doing the thing that leads to mutual edification! Having a discussion with a brother about whether or not we should drink wine is a nonissue and it is divisive. It leads no where. The bottom line is — don’t try to convince me I’m in bondage if I don’t drink. And I won’t try to convince you of being in sin if you do. I will let the Holy Spirit deal with each of us right where we are. How’s that for following after peace . . . ?

Consider these translations of that same passage of Scripture:
“So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” (NASB)

“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” (KJV)

Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is” (vv 13-14 The Message)

This video by Hezekiah Walker & the Love Fellowship Choir just shows how we are inextricably connected!

I need you! You need me! I won’t harm you with words from my mouth. We are a part of the same Body!

Enjoy!

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I heard someone say that when his BACK was AGAINST his Red Sea, he had to do as Moses did.
Consider these steps as revealed in Exodus 14 to find out exactly what Moses did when he and 3 million people found themselves against the Red Sea:

• God told Moses where to camp – between two mountains with the sea in front (Ex. 14:2). You would think God didn’t know geography that well.
• Then the Egyptians pursue and catch up with them right in that obviously vulnerable spot.
• Then the people complain: “You should have left us in Egypt, etc, etc, etc…” (10-12 Look, 3 whole verses of complaints!)
• Then Moses looks to God, telling the people to remain calm. God would fight for them. (13)
• Then God says something that would make my eyes bulge: “Why are you looking at me? Stop crying to me! Tell them to get moving.” (15) Gulp!

Here’s the part that struck me. Their faces were always toward the sea, even in God strategically placing them between the mountains and the sea. That’s how He positioned them, if you will. Although the Egyptians were approaching, the more immediate obstacle was the sea.

Have you ever focused on the wrong obstacle? Ever spent too much energy and emotions on the wrong thing? Did you know that sometimes conquering the more immediate obstacle will be the key to defeating the one that is behind you — the one that seems more intimidating?
So God tells Moses — “Tell them to move forward.” In other words, step INTO THE SEA. They didn’t hear God say that! They heard it from Moses–a man like themselves. So if your back is toward the sea, you’re looking the wrong way. Turn and face the SEA! Face the giant! Face the obstacle! Then move forward . . . undaunted! Feel the dry land under your feet. Open your eyes and see God making a way right in the midst of your trouble! Then watch the other obstacle lose its force and might! Hallelujah!

Let’s wield this amazing power God has given us and cross our seas . . . walking fearlessly into our destinies.

Abba, thank you always! I have run from my obstacles only to run smack dab into another one! Then I have complained to You (probably more than 3 verses full of complaints). But I want to face my obstacles with You — exercising the power You have given to me over them. Today, I choose to step out into my sea . . . I choose to move forward! That enemy behind me will completely fall when I conquer the one in front of me. I exalt you, mighty God. In Yeshua’s Name. Amen!

The Trailer to the movie FACING THE GIANTS is so inspiring! Be inspired  . . . as you face your sea!

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I have been reading THE SHACK. I know, most of you are way ahead of me. You read it last year — right? Okay, two years ago. Well, I just want you to know that it has revolutionized my prayer life.

Here’s the deal: MacKenze, the central character, meets God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus in a shack. While sitting at meal with them, he proceeds to tell them all about his family — his wife and his children. Then he realizes that he is talking to God who already knows everything he is saying and is about to say. So he says, “Why am I telling you this? You already know it. You’re acting like this is the first time you have heard it.”

This is what God the Father says:
“We are limiting ourselves out of respect for you. We are not bringing to mind, as it were, our knowledge of your children. As we are listening to you, it is as if this is the first time we have known about them, and we take great delight in seeing them through your eyes” (page 106).

Amazing!

Do you know what Mackenzie says, “I like that!” Who could not?

Then I understood the Psalms a little better. I used to wonder why God allowed David to spew out all his venom and hurt and doubt and pain — in the Bible, no less. (Okay, there was a time when I thought I knew better than God. I have confessed that sin many times before.) There is no indication that God chastised David at all. He just let him vent. By the end of his diatribe, David blesses the God of Israel.

Well, God allows him to do it — I believe — because he wants to hear about everything that affected David through David’s own lens. And everytime David spews out his hurt and questions, it is as if God hears it for the first time. Why? Because He loved David! He loves us! He cares for us! He sees his willful limitations and our incessant sharings as us taking advantage of the intimacy that He has provided.

Can you imagine — God limiting Himself just so he could hear — as if for the first time — my heart, my feelings! Prepare, Father, for me to talk your ears off! 🙂

Father, I love you! I believe all your children are echoing that same sentiment. How could we not love you — when we know you? Thanks for not being some distant god and thanks for not being turned off by our tirades! And thank you don’t get tired of hearing from us. Yea, “I like that!”

When I visited my mother in rehab after her hip replacement surgery, I ran into Geraldine, an old childhood friend (really, my sister’s old friend), who was visiting her mother-in-law. Geraldine later wheeled her mother-in-law into my mother’s room.

With body in the grips of old age and her mind being ravaged by time, this 90-year-old woman managed a very infectious smile. She struggled to remember us as her daughter-in-law revealed who we were.

When we told her how great she looked, the woman declared with a great smile, “Ain’t God good?”

• How many times to do you have to say that in life to be able to say it at the end of life? I wondered.
• How connected must one be to eternity in order to proclaim His goodness after three years in nursing home? I mused.
• How deep an intimacy must one have with God to say he is good when your closet relative is a daughter-in-law?

When I left my mother, I saw this woman sitting in her wheelchair in the hallway among other residents, also wizened by time. I waved. She brought an arthritic hand to her mouth and blew me a kiss. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too,” I replied.

Such a magnificent reflection of steadfast faith! Faith tried and tested! A life filled with hardships but at the end of the day — the end of life — she can still say, “Ain’t God good!” Marvelous! Let that always be the cry of those of us who love you, Father!

WHETHER PROCLAIMED BY DON MOEN IN A FOLKSY BLUEGRASS STYLE

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OR BY THE SOULFUL DEITRICK HADDON — THE BOTTOM LINE IS . . . “GOD IS GOOD”

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I had an opportunity to speak with a gentleman today who said he was an agnostic. He said that he believed in God, but he had questions.
“What are some of your questions?” I asked him.
“Well, I am sure all believers have questions,” he said, unwilling to share any of his questions.
“Our questions would stem from not knowing God,” I said. If we don’t believe that God loves us and that He is LOVE, we will have questions. If we don’t believe that He is Righteous, we will have questions.
“What kind?” he asked.
“We would say, ‘Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to her? If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world.”
“I am sure everyone has those questions,” he said.
Do you believe that when you pose those questions that you are questioning the righteousness of God. Greater still, that you do not KNOW that particular aspect of the character of God.
The gentleman was right. Even as believers we have questioned God. We may not have considered or realized that we were questioning him, but what is so wonderful about our righteous God is that He is big enough to handle the questions.
Let’s not sit back in our own self-righteousness and refuse to seek the answers from the only One who has them! He is not afraid of your questions! I pray you will be able to embrace the answers He gives you and discover the awesomely wonderful character of God.

To the agnostics I say, why waste your life wondering when you can get to know a loving God who wants to get to know you?!

Father, thank you for being righteous. I know I do not understand it all  — Why the prodigal son got a big party thrown for him and the older son did not (Luke 15). Why the one who had worked one hour got the same wages as the ones who had worked all day, bearing their burdens in the heat of the day (Matthew 20). Why did the master take the talent from the one who buried it and give it to the one who had ten — why not the one with the five who doubled his money too (Matthew 25)?Perplexing Questions! But what we know is that you are holy! Your reasons are your own but they are always for the fulfillment of your purpose — which is ultimately for our own good. Amen!

Enjoy this video about the unquestionable love of God for you!

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I heard a young singer once say, “My generation is tired of doing church.” She continued to highlight the way her parents’ generation “did church.” I understand exactly what she means; I really do. There are a lot of ills among the people of God in every generation. But I think of this:

• God gives a revelation of Himself to every age.
• I believe that it is all that we can take and handle as His “called-out ones” for that moment.
• For example, the religious leaders could not take the truth that was revealed to Paul
• Imperial Rome could not handle the truth given to church fathers like Wycliffe & Luther

Here’s an important point:

The truth that God has given believers throughout the century has always been enough to save, for instance:

• In my Baptist church (when I was younger) I came to salvation.
• But it wasn’t until I engaged in pentecostalism (as a young woman) that I discovered what it meant to have an intimate relationship with God; what it meant to tithe out of love obedience; what it mean to respect authority; and what it meant to worship God.
• It wasn’t until I was introduced to Messianic Judaism (as a more mature woman) did I learn the the necessity of reconnecting with the Jewish-rootedness of my faith and falling deeply in love with a Jewish Yeshua.

I think of how long I went –although saved– I had no intimacy with the Father and didn’t know Him as Daddy. I think of all my intimacy with Him and I didn’t really know His heart as it pertained to His biological children or the reality of why the Messiah entrenched himself in the Jewish culture from birth to death to resurrection!

So I understand what this young singer was saying. But I must say this — It might be easier to put down the roots of the past as opposed to thanking God for them and using them as stepping stones by which to move forward. The generations to come, I believe, can look back on the previous one and complain about it or be thankful for it and use it as a bow and become the arrow that is propelled forward by it.

Father, thank you for all of my experiences of the past, especially with the congregations you led me to and the way you moved. I know that before you return, Yeshua, you will move past the revelation that you have given each of them and move us all into perfection. Until then, Father, help us to hold on to the good and the truth that we have heard and allow it to build our faith and our trust in you. Even Paul shared with Timothy to do so: “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (II Tim. 1: 13-14) Amen.

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