God is Good

God is Good

November 22, 2009 – Nursing Home

Psalm 100

Please listen for a minute as I read Psalm 100  

Shout with joy to the LORD, O earth!
Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his.                                We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.                                                                                               Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

One of the earliest truths a child learns in Sunday school is that God is good. The simplicity of this statement masks the depth of such a remarkable attribute of the Lord. He is absolutely perfect and holy, which means that He alone is the standard of all righteousness. And since the expression of the Father's goodness is revealed in His actions, all that He does is good and right, because He cannot violate His own nature.

God is also unchanging, and therefore, His dealings with us are determined by His character, not by our behavior. Even when we are living in rebellion, He is still good to us. As a loving heavenly Father, He responds with discipline which is designed to restore the broken relationship rather than crush the wayward child.

The Lord's goodness is expressed in a multitude of ways. He is our Creator, and we are His people. Every breath we breathe is given to us by Him. As our loving Shepherd who watches over us, He provides for all our needs. But the greatest expression of God's goodness is the cross of Christ. What appeared from a human perspective to be the ultimate in cruelty and unfairness was the only way to rescue mankind from eternal separation from the Lord

Believing in God’s goodness is one of the pillars of our faith. This truth fills us with joy in happy times and grounds us with confidence when life is hard, unfair, or painful. When we don’t understand what the Lord is doing, we can trust His heart and know He is good.

Please join with me in saying the Lord’s prayer,

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in

heaven.

'Give us this day our daily bread.

'And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

'And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory

forever and ever. Amen.