Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Good God!

God is good ALL the time!

Do not err, my beloved brethren. 

EVERY good gift and EVERY perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.    James 1:16,17

Years ago, when I lived on Lake Tahoe, my favorite place to go was Eagle Falls, overlooking Emerald Bay.  This place is on picture post cards because it is breathtakingly beautiful.  I’d cruise up there in my little red sports car, and go hiking in the fragrant woods, always ending up back at the falls.  I’d sit there and just take in the grandeur of pristine Lake Tahoe, surrounded by the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains.  Then I would lie back on a flat rock and let the lovely sunshine warm my body and soothe my soul.  I felt so safe and secure that I would usually fall asleep in the sun.  My life at that time was anything but peaceful, it was actually quite chaotic; but when I came to Eagle Falls, I found a respite far from the madding crowd.  I felt like the good Lord had given me a little slice of heaven to enjoy for a while, and you know what, He had.

I was thinking about Eagle Falls today and it occurred to me that it was only one of the multitudes of blessings in my life that has come from the hand of God. Even now, when I think of that special place I can still hear the burbling water and feel the warm sunshine, and I still get a feeling of happiness and well being on the inside.  This, too, is from the hand of God.

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.  Eccl. 2:24

Every good thing that has come into my life has come from God.  From napping in the sun at the top of my favorite waterfall, to rejoicing with a friend who has finally come to Christ, God is at the center of all of those moments because EVERY good thing comes from the hand of God.

Every wonderful moment I have enjoyed in life has come from God.  Whether it is smelling the hair of a newborn baby, or laughing at a silly moment with a group of friends, or avoiding a bad traffic accident, or finding my favorite item on sale, God is at the center of all these good things.

Just take a second right now to stop - and think of a time, or event, that made you really, really happy.  Just thinking of it makes you feel good all over again.  Perhaps you are even smiling right now.  That’s a good thing.  Just running these scenarios through your mind makes you think better, feel better, and act better.  It brings peace to your heart, even in troubled times, to meditate on the goodness of God.  

Unfortunately the average person fixates on the bad things that have happened, or might happen, in their life.  Why?  Bad habits.  But the great thing about a habit is that you can change it and build new ones in your life.  Good ones.  Happy and healthy ones.  Like making the goodness of God the focus of your thought life.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.   John 10:10

In stark contrast to the abundance and goodness of God, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; starting with your thought life.  Every moment of fear, agony, sickness, sorrow, shame, anger or despair in your life has come directly, or indirectly, from Satan.  And it is of paramount importance for you to distinguish the difference.  John 10:10 draws a line in the sand:  good things come from God (abundance), bad things come from Satan (steal, kill, destroy).  

Too often people try to blame our good God for cancer, sickness, poverty, car wrecks and the like.  I suppose one could argue, “Well, God created the devil.”  And the answer is, “Yes, He did.”  But, He created a good angel, who CHOSE to rebel, thereby becoming the devil.  And God used that rebellion to give mankind a choice.  The badness of the devil serves as a counterpoint to the goodness of God, to give man a choice; because love is always a choice.  And God wants us to love HIM.  By our free will we get to choose:

God or the devil.

Good or evil.

Light or darkness.

Love or hate.

Here it is, God is ALWAYS good, and the devil is ALWAYS bad.  Therefore, choose wisely.

To say that God causes evil because He created an angelic being that failed, is like saying that God causes YOU to do evil because He created you.  That’s silly.  I can tell you for sure, when I mess up, it’s me oh, Lord!  It’s my own bad choices.

So, from a purely logical point of view, whom should you think about?  Who should you trust?  Who should you count on?  Who should you be in league with?  Who should you focus your thoughts on?  God, of course, and the good things of God.

What you think on you become.  The more you run the things of God through your mind, the more you become like your Father in love and in deed by literally putting on the mind of Christ.  As Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus.”  God was always on his mind.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Phil 4:8

When we think on these things, the peace that passes understanding shall fill our hearts and minds.  What a wonderful way to live.  The world may call this “rose colored glasses,” but God calls it the renewed mind, the key to power.

Each of us gets to choose, every day, what to think on, and how to behave; we choose the goodness of God, or the “badness” of the devil.  Obviously, God wants us to choose Him and His ways.  And thereby we can fully experience His miraculous love, mercy, tenderness, guidance and peace in our own lives.  And we can pass that goodness and joy on to others.  

God is good ALL the time.  Do not err, do not be misled, my beloved brethren, EVERY good and EVERY perfect gift comes from God.

The more you dwell on the goodness of God, and the good things He has done for you, the more you will manifest God’s goodness in your life.  It will make you think better, feel better, and act better.  As you form new habits, and clean up your thought life, you will experience the power and presence of God with a new, and heightened awareness.  

You can be a force for good on this earth, just like your brother, Jesus Christ, by inviting the Father into every aspect of your thought life.  Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus.  It can only bring good to yourself and others, because your Father is a good God!

In Christ’s Love,

Peg Rhone