2014 shall be crowned with His goodness

Every year I pray this for myself and my family before I move into the new year.

This year 2014 was no exception. I prayed this verse again & again for myself & my family - Ps 65:11" You crowned the year with Your goodness. Your paths drip with abundance."

The Lord gave me a better understanding of this verse on New Year's day.

2014 is a year indeed crowned with His goodness but only on one condition that I learn to keep to His paths and not my paths. Only His paths & His paths alone will bring about the "dripping with abundance". 

This year I felt led to do some research on the significance of the verse even as I shared this during Watch Night service and decreed this for the church during early morning prayer on Jan 1. 

"Goodness" refers to the character & inherent nature of God.

In the Hebrew it is "towb" meaning "welfare, prosperity & happiness". In other words God has my welfare, prosperity & happiness at heart! What a comfort! What a joy to know this!

10 wonderful truths about the "goodness" of God:

1. Goodness is an essential character of God and it is very great

Exodus 34:6 "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth"

Ps 31:19 "Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!"

Isa 63:7 "I will mention the lovingkindness of the Lord and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord bestowed upon us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel...."

2. Goodness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit

If we yield ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit, we will surely bear the fruit of goodness.

Gal 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness and truth"

Eph 5:9 "(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth)"

3. God's Goodness is a blessing & a crown of pure gold

Ps 21:3 "For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;You set a crown of pure gold upon his head"

4. God's Goodness (& mercy) is our companion all the days of our life

Ps 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"

5. God's Goodness can satisfy our spiritual longing & our spiritual thirst

Ps 107:9 "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness"

Jer 31:14 "I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord"

Neh 9:25 "And they took strong cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns already dug up, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness"

During the corporate prayer meetings, I often find myself crying out for more of the Lord. In doing so I am seeking to be filled to the brim with the goodness of God even to the overflowing....!

6. God's Goodness is found in the local church, the Bride of Christ

Jer 31:12 "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord - for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more"

The wheat is like the pure word of God. The wine & the oil is the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. Truly those who feed themselves with the wheat, the wine and the oil will never be thirsty or dry.

7. God's Goodness leads us to repentance

Rom 2:4 "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"

It is the goodness (forbearance & longsuffering) of God that is going to lead my mother to repentance not my own goodness, no matter how much I give her in monthly allowance, no matter how much good deeds I seem to do for her...surely nothing can move her heart to call upon Jesus but the riches of His goodness which will lead her to repentance.

8. God's Goodness will enable us & empower us to do His will

2 Thess 1:11 "Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power"

In the prayer ministry and in my LG - I really need the "good pleasure of His goodness" in order to work of faith with power.

9. God's Goodness gives us hope in times of trouble

Ps 27:13 "I would have lost heart, unless I have believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living"

As long as I know that there is the goodness of God reaching out to me to help me through my tough times, there will always be hope for me in all the trials I am going through.

10. God's Goodness will keep us in the right path

Prov 2:20 "So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the path of righteousness"

To walk in the path of righteousness is to walk in the path of goodness. 

What does God wants me to do? I believe He wants me to release faith for His goodness in my life by giving thanks to Him.

Ps 107:8 "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

Ps 107:15 "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

Ps 107:21 "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

Ps 107:31 "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

LORD bless me & my family with Your Goodness in every area of our lives - work, family, ministry. In Jesus Name. Amen

Giving to God always leads to abundance - Principle no 5

When I first started this series on giving to help me prepare my offering messages on Sunday, I thought there were only 5 principles. However as I continued to meditate on the messages the Holy Spirit laid upon my heart, I realized that the list expanded!

So I will no longer limit myself to 5 principles but will flow with the Holy Spirit as He gives me the teaching & the revelation.

The 5th principle of giving (and there is more to come) is that "Giving to God always leads to abundance".

Coming back to the famous phrase that Jesus remarked when asked by someone in the crowd "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" - "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possess" this remark is so deep and rich in wisdom and meaning indeed!

This famous phrase in Luke 12:15 is quoted everywhere, even in non-Christian publications - "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses".

Pause for a moment and reflect. 

Jesus did not actually answer the question as to what then should consist the "abundance" that we should possess. Jesus only answered in the negative. "Nay, you are wrong. Abundance is not in your physical possessions!"

Searching the word "abundance", I realized that it appears 77 times in the Bible. In the OT the reference is mostly to physical stuff - goats, herds, iron, money, bronze, gold, grain, wine, riches.

However there are verses in the OT and especially in the NT where abundance does not refer to physical things but to intangible things!

I found out that there are 7 of them that I really need:

1. Abundance of honor

2 Chron 17:5 - Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance. Now who does not want that? I certainly need "honor in abundance" in my job to clinch that promotion! 

"Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance" 2 Chron 17: 5

2. Abundance of peace

Now I really need this especially when my work gets really tough and all I want is to throw in the towel! (Quit lah...)!

Ps 37:11 "The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in abundance of peace"

3. Abundance of goodness

Ps 65: 11 "You the crown the year with Your goodness, Your paths drip with abundance"

We have to take God's paths in 2014 in order to enjoy this "dripping with abundance"! Imagine 365 days of the year....everyday dripping with abundance!

4. Abundance of truth

Jer 33:6 "...I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace & truth"

5. Abundance of grace

Romans 5:17 "For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ"

Abundance of grace is needed for every good work.

2 Cor 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work"

6. Abundance of joy

2 Cor 8:2 "that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality"

Giving to God will give us abundance of joy!

7. Abundance of revelations 

2 Cor 12:7 "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me...."


To be continued.....