The Goodness Of The Lord Endureth Continually

Psalms 27:13, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

I woke up this morning thinking about how good God is. I searched the book of Psalms and found the word “goodness” mentioned 18 times. The word “good” is mentioned 79 times. Despite all the ugliness in this sinful world, God is a good God. In fact, He is a very very good God. Like David in the Old Testament, I am continually amazed at the incredible wonder of the human body. God is more than amazing! David said in Psalms 27:13 above, that were it not for his hope in the goodness of God, he would have quit (fainted). It was David's faith that God is a good God, which the Bible declares and nature evidences Him to be, which gave David the strength to keep going day by day. I also can testify to the same!

I receive many emails from disgruntled and miserable believers, web visitors, who are looking at the wrong things in life. We are what we think about. I encourage others to focus on Jesus Christ and the many promises of God in the Bible. Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When I praise God for His goodness and think about His many blessings, I find peace each day. We all have problems, some more than others at different times in our lives. It is during the darkest times that we ought to praise God even more, showing our faith in the Lord. 

Psalms 31:19, “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” God is so good, He's so good to me. And He's good to you friend. If you think God has not been good to you, then you have a wrong attitude. Ironically, it is the people in life who suffer the most and have the least, who praise and thank God the most for what they have. It is the most famous and the wealthiest among us humans who appreciate God the least, and rarely if ever praise and thank God for His blessings. Most rich people are too ashamed of Jesus to openly brag on Him, because they love the praises of men more than the praise of God (John 12:42-43).

Psalms 33:5, “He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” I have learned that people who live in the big and dirty cities often lack faith in God the most. They are surrounded by ugly manmade concrete buildings, streets and bridges. They see homeless people everywhere. Crime is rampant in all big cities. But I have rarely met a family who grew up and worked on a farm out in a rural area, who didn't have strong faith in God. God is seen in nature. That is why I think everyone who lives in a city should take time to drive or travel to the country once in awhile. Please don't misunderstand, God's handiwork is seen in the cities too, if you can see any stars through the smog...lol. But there's just something healing for the soul about seeing a flowing river, a waterfall, a mountain, a forest and a brilliant rainbow in a valley.

Psalms 52:1, “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?  the goodness of God endureth continually.” God's goodness abounds in our earthly world. I went down to the Community Maritime Park in Pensacola yesterday. I walked around for awhile, limping in pain from my neck injury, which radiates into my arms and legs. I've had horrible stinging pain this week from my neck extending down my left arm into my two middle fingers. So I need to get out by the ocean and see God's handiwork often, to remind me that God is so good. I watched the beautiful big sea birds swoop in gracefully and fly away with great ease of flight. God is so amazing! I saw the beautiful Pensacola Bay, looking out on the ocean as far as I could see. The sun was warm about my body, as I enjoyed the 70 degree pleasant weather in November.

God is not just good to His children, He is good to everyone, even the wicked. Luke 6:35, “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Wow! God is good even to evil people. They still get to eat His food, drink His water and enjoy God's creation. But dear friend, God's goodness will not last beyond the grave for the unbeliever. Evil people whom the Lord does not know, will go straight to Hell forever!!!

Psalms 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.” In the preceding verse David speaks as a child of God. The Lord is good. One of my favorite Bible passages is Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?  he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” Christianity stands apart unique from all other religious faiths. Only in Bible Christianity does God offer a free pardon, even to wicked people who are not ready to turn away from their sins.

I am so sick and tired of hearing ungodly preachers demand that lost sinners forsake their lifelong sinful bad habits or else God won't save them! Nothing could be further from the truth of the Holy Bible. God freely offers eternal life as a gift to all humanity, to anyone who is willing to receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, believing that Christ resurrected from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus paid our debt of sin on the cross. He shed His precious blood, died, was buried, raised up the third day, ascended into Heaven, and then sprinkled that shed blood upon the heavenly Mercy Seat in the presence of God the Father (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24).

To be saved, all a lost sinner needs to do is acknowledge that they are a guilty needy sinner, and BELIEVE the Good News (the Gospel) that Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected to pay for their sins. The very moment that you make that Good News yours personally, through faith alone to accept it as true FOR YOU, you are forever saved. You are then and forever a born-again child of God. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” It is not what you do that gets you into Heaven friend, it is what God did for you through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son through Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem. Simply BELIEVE and you will be saved immediately and eternally (Acts 16:30-31). What a good God!!! The Lord wants to save you now dear reader, if you have never made that decision to receive Christ as your personal Savior. Please don't delay another second, because life is predictably unpredictable!

God's Faithfulness Is Unto Every Generation

Psalms 33:11, “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” Psalms 78:4, “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” Psalms 100:5, “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalms 119:90, “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.”

We hear a lot of Christians worrying about the next generation and what kind of world they will inherit. I found this poem today which made a lot of sense. I think we tend to worry too much as believers and sometimes forget that God is faithful unto every generation...

Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. 

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. 

Train them up in the authority of His Word. 

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. 

Empower them to know they can change the world. 

Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. 

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. 

He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. 

He knew David could handle Goliath. 

He knew Esther could handle Haman. 

He knew Peter could handle persecution. 

He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it! 

Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. 

Rise up to the challenge. 

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters! 

God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. 

He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. 

Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this. ~Alex Cravens

Galatians 6:7, God's Promise That All Men Will REAP What They SOW

Galatians 6:7-8, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

We find a solemn promise from God in Galatians 6:7, warning all humanity that we will REAP what seeds we have SOWN. Within proper context, the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7 is warning the churches at Galatia about succumbing to false doctrine.

Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” I have heard many preachers using Galatians 6:1 to teach about restoring fellow Christian brethren who've gone into sin. Although this is indeed true, I think the particular fault which Paul is referring to is being misled by false teaching. 

Paul stresses that we all are ultimately responsible and will be held accountable by God for OUR OWN DECISIONS. Galatians 6:5-6, “For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” Paul says that believers who are taught (skilled) in the Word of God should teach those whop teach. Wow! In other words, if you hear a pastor wrongly teaching the Word of God, you and I have a duty biblically to share doctrinally sound information with him.

When I attended the neo-evangelical Harvest Baptist Church on Guam (HBCG) for an entire year in 2013-2014, I was dismayed after hearing senior pastor Marty Herron preach a perverse gospel of “Lordship” salvation. Pastor Herron was preaching from multiple different Bible revisions, and the church members were using over two dozens different Bible versions (a house confused). The church was ignorantly promoting Martin Luther (1483-1546) as a born-again Christian, when in reality Luther taught Baptismal Regeneration his entire life. Luther was not saved. Sadly, there pastors at HBCG  didn't care. I communicated with those who taught at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, because by God's grace I am learned in the Word of God.

Kindly said, Marty Herron is an incompetent pastor theologically. It sickens me that he is now corrupting young people as executive vice president of Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. Mr. Herron would be in prison if I had the power to put him there, for all the people whom he has victimized and hurt! Pastor Herron will bear his own damnable burden on Judgment Day when he appears before God. Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” God has promised it so! Galatians 6:5-6, “For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” I spoke words of wisdom to a fool, and they cast me out of their church and ostracized me as punishment for TELLING THE TRUTH. Romans 3:4 promises that God will avenge me!

The Apostle Paul elaborates further...

Galatians 6:12-14, “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

To become a follower of Jesus Christ meant certain persecution, back then in history and still today (2nd Timothy 3:12). Consequently, the cult which had infiltrated the church of Galatia was trying to get the churches to adopt keeping the law of Moses as a requirement to be saved. We know that this is a false gospel according to Romans 3:29-20, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The ONLY purpose of GOD'S LAW in Salvation is to give THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN!!! That is, the law shows us our hopeless sinful condition and need for the dear Savior (Galatians 3:24-26).

The Apostle Paul is obviously upset in the Epistle of Galatians, upset that these professed believers had succumbed to a dangerous cult that requires keeping the Mosaic law to get to Heaven. Paul calls them foolish and bewitched in Galatians 3:1-3. Paul warns in Galatians 1:6-9 that there are not two gospels, there is only ONE. Paul warns that anyone, even an angel (demon) who preaches another gospel, is accursed by God. Getting our doctrine correct is a very serious matter. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!! Paul didn't merely assume (ass-u-me) that the churches of Galatia were caught up into mere semantics, so it really didn't matter. That is the sinful poor attitude of foolish men like Dr. Kevin Bauder. Calvinism does NOT fall within the realm of orthodox theology! Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary, Bob Jones University and Moody Bible Institute are sadly teaching damnable Calvinist doctrine today, perverting the Gospel of free grace. Anybody who says that you cannot know 100% that you are saved and going to Heaven at the moment of the new birth is a liar and false prophet.

Calvinism is based upon a WRONG understanding of what it means to “repent.” In the Bible, repentance concerning salvation always means only “a change of mind” (Greek noun: metanoia) or “to think differently” (Greek verb: metanoeo). Repentance never means "to turn away from sinful ways,” which is the heresy tragically taught at Bob Jones University today. It is a dangerous thing to embellish the Word of God. It is wrong and dishonest to add or subtract meaning from the Holy Bible. 

For example: I was looking at the website of the Victory Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. On their page showing “Salvation,” it horribly reads:

Repent of your sin

Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction -- a turning from sin unto Christ

Matt 3:2 - ...Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Luke 13:3 - ...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

SOURCE: https://www.vbbcfl.org/salvation

The first big noticeable problem is that Pastor Allen Cotton corrupts the true meaning of repentance. Instead of a simple change of mind, Pastor Cotton changes it to mean “a change of mind that leads to a change of direction.” The problem is when Cotton says repentance means to “turn from sin,” it strongly implies that to be saved a person must give up their sinful behavior or at least make an effort to clean up their life, which is a false gospel. The only thing that we need to turn away from to be saved is the only thing that can prevent us from going to Heaven, which is UNBELIEF!

Marty Herron (former shameful pastor of Harvest Baptist Church on Guam), Chuck Phelps (shameful pastor of Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana), Ray Comfort (Living Waters), Gary Walton (shameful pastor of Harvest Baptist Church on Guam since 2018) are all corrupt doctrinally! These aforementioned infidels all teach a perverse meaning of repentance, requiring lost sinners to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to receive God's free gift. That is NOT the Gospel taught in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 and the Gospel of John (John 20:31).

Repentance Unto Salvation NEVER Means To Forsake Your Sinning