God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.

I heard this many, many times growing up in church.  The pastor would call out and the congregation would respond enthusiastically. I remember thinking that this was such a corny exercise. I always watched the reactions of the new people, wondering if they thought it was as strange as I did.  Fast forward to today – now I’m of the opinion that we should recite this over and over until we really get it. The core of the Christian identity stands on this truth.

Moses had the audacity, or maybe the courage, to ask to see God’s glory and goodness.  God honored his request. As God passed by he described himself – the Lord, God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.  And beyond his character, he added a couple action words: “I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” God went on to describe his justice, as well, and the impact on generations.  There is no doubt that God’s justice is significant. And there is no doubt that God’s goodness is more significant. The justice impacts a few generations, the blessing impacts a thousand more!

The theme of God’s goodness extends throughout Scripture.  We also see God’s goodness in creation. Psalm 145 states that God is good to all.  Romans 1:19-20 says that God is so obvious in nature that mankind is without excuse.  However, instead of worshipping the glorious, everlasting God, people create idols as a vain substitution.  What keeps “them” and “us” from seeing God as he really is? What would compel people to build a false god instead of worshiping the Real God?

Our lack of faith is often rooted in the false idea that maybe God isn’t good.  This was the deception in the Garden – the serpent planted the idea that maybe God wasn’t as good as he said.  And throughout the history of mankind this deception continues, resulting in fear that leads to a lack of complete faith.  

If God is good, then everything changes.  We have freedom. We are forgiven. We can worship the living God.  We can approach the throne of grace with confidence. We have no reason to fear, because God is good and he lavishes us with his unfailing love to a thousand generations.

God is good, all the time.

 

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This is loosely based on a message I shared at Cornerstone Church on September 15, 2019:

“Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?” (Proverbs 20:6)

Loyal friends are true treasures.  David and Jonathan shared a deep friendship. These two had a lot in common.  They were young, successful warriors, with enormous potential, and even bigger faith in God.  Both had a claim to the throne of Israel, Jonathan by birth and David by God’s anointing through Samuel.  These two could have easily been enemies as they both had a right to the throne. And somehow they valued their friendship more than any position of authority. Each set aside rights and privileges for the sake of friendship.  Jonathan even made a pact with David by giving him his robe and sword, both symbols of royalty and authority that were rightfully his (1 Samuel 18). This is a model of loyal friendship for us to emulate today.  

Jonathan is the picture of a true friend – loyal and selfless, surrendering rights for the sake of friendship.  S.E. Hinton said, “If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky. If you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky.”  Similarly, Henry Adams said, “One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible.” A friend like Jonathan is a true treasure.  Who is your Jonathan?

While these types of friends might be challenging to find, it is certainly worth the search.  At the very least, we can do our part to be a good friend to another. Proverbs has much to say about friendship.  Here are a few key points:

• Friends build each other up.  “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (Proverbs 27:17)
• Friends are genuine. “There are ‘friends’ that destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)
• Friends do NOT gossip. “A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.” (Proverbs 16:28)
• Friends forgive and friends don’t let conflicts go unresolved.  “An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.” (Proverbs 18:19)

As we look for good friends and as we exemplify good friendship, let’s remember the words of Christ in John 15:13-17. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

I’ve always been surprised by the word choice here.  “You are my friends if you do what I command.” What kind of friend talks that way to another friend?  But then I realize the context of the statement. A friend is loyal even to death. A friend builds up another.  A friend knows your past and loves you anyway. A friend knows your potential and helps you get there. A friend wants what is best for you.  And all this is exactly what Christ did and continues to do for us. 

Let’s take what Christ did for us and show that to others.  There is no better friend than Christ. Let’s show the world what Christ has done for us by doing that same thing for others.  Let’s leave an impression that our friends will not be able to shake.

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This is based on a message I shared at Cornerstone Church on July 28, 2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6bn-SlemWg).  This summary appeared in The Sheridan Press on August 9, 2019 (https://thesheridanpress.com/110862/loyal-friends-are-true-treasures/)

Always avoid clichés, except on December 31.  “I can’t believe this year is already over!” Anybody else there? Of course you are, because each year seems to go by faster and faster.  Just like the last 85 years (more or less).

I’ve been encouraged recently by seeing so many articles, blogs, and podcasts speaking of slowing down. Or at the very least, living more intentionally. That has been my goal – to breathe – for the past couple years as I explored the merits of minimalism and as my family has taken concrete steps towards simplifying our lives and creating margin in everything from schedules to finances.  It has all been a breath of fresh air. I can’t say enough about how much it has helped me personally. (I’ll likely write more on this subject in the future.)

 

A successful tree hunt.  Yes, the chainsaw was “necessary.”

So often this time of year we are looking ahead, setting goals for the upcoming year, and generally lamenting over how things are not where we want them to be.  Of course that is the case. We have not yet “arrived.” As long as we are still breathing, we are growing and changing and adapting and learning. I don’t mean to imply that it is bad to set goals or to look ahead.  It is probably not good to beat ourselves up too badly over where we are currently. And that’s where the review of past goals is so helpful in providing good perspective.

Last week I took an early morning before everyone woke up to review some of my goals for 2018.  It was a surprisingly worthwhile endeavor. As I looked over some of my goals for 2018, I realized that I was far more successful than I gave myself credit for.  When I initially wrote out these goals they were “goals” because they were things I wasn’t doing yet. Looking back I realized that many of these goals were easily achieved.  And I realized that some of my goals were just impossible.

Learning from the past will help me establish better goals for the future.  There are some goals from 2018 that I need to keep on the list. Some goals need to be re-written to allow a shot for success.  Some goals need to be abandoned altogether. Had I not reviewed the previous goals I might foolishly write down some goals that I’ve already accomplished.  And that would then consume time and energy, possibly even keep me from doing something even bigger and better than before.

So here is my first goal for 2019.  “Look back on occasion to do an honest assessment.  Celebrate success. And don’t get trip up over failures, whether that be poor execution or poor verbalization.”

May you find space to breathe in the coming days.  May you find True Peace. May you have right ambitions.  May you continue to learn and grow and create and achieve.

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“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the Lord your God.”     — 1 Chronicles 22:11 NLT

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” — Jesus

I find this to be simultaneously the best and the hardest of everything Jesus taught. The first part is so appealing. The second part can be so challenging. The first part forces me to look up. The second part forces me to look out.

One cannot complete the first part, loving God, without also completing the second part, loving others. When I love God I expect that he will love me back. I know this because he sacrificed everything for me even when I continued to run from him. He was and is relentless in his pursuit of my soul. I have much work to do in order to love him with ALL my heart, soul, and mind. And I know that he continues to change me and mold me. The potter will continue to work this lump of clay until it is just as he desires.

Loving others goes hand-in-hand with loving the Lord. It is a fascinating juxtaposition of faith and works, of word and deed, of heavenward and hell-breaking, of justice and mercy. From the very beginning, God desired that the Spirit fill the earth. As Christians we know how our sin broke that perfection. (Interestingly, it was sin – deception fulfilled – and not merely the presence of the deceiver that unleashed God’s wrath.) The life, death, and resurrection of Christ restored what was broken and now we can again have a right relationship with God, the Holy One. And that is the beginning of why I find this second commandment so intriguing and challenging.

Christ placed equal value on loving others with loving God. Stated this way, it almost sounds heretical. How can anything have the same value as loving God? CS Lewis explained this so succinctly in his sermon Weight of Glory.

“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.”

Do I treat others as if they are “holy in almost the same way”? Usually not. I too often complain about a neighbor. I am too casual with a neighbor. I do not respond quickly and seriously to a neighbor. I put off a neighbor until it is convenient for me. What would change if I viewed my neighbor as if Christ is in him or as if Christ is pursuing her? Would I then be part of the means by which the Holy Spirit fills the earth? Would I then see and even be the evidence of Christ’s prayer “your kingdom come”?

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.”

All that we know and see and experience is temporary, but the Lord has so much more for the people. It is tempting to dehumanize the eternity of others by reducing them to the abstract soul. Our neighbors? We know them. We see them daily. We interact with them over the fence. We see them on the street. We hear them talk in the backyard. And the Lord loves them. Do you?