January-March 2022 – THE LORD WILL GIVE WHAT IS GOOD

THE LORD WILL GIVE WHAT IS GOOD

(Ps. 85:12)

 

Dearly beloved in Christ, Greetings! Let us praise God who brought us into this New Year. “The LORD will indeed give what is Good.” this is the promise God has given to our church for 2022. The Bible says, “The Lord is good and does what is good.” (Ps. 119:68). Yes, our good God is the one who gives us everything that is good (Ps. 85:12; James 1:17; Matt. 7:11). The Lord will remember us to give us good (Neh. 5:19; 13:31); He will satisfy us with what is good (Ps. 103:5; Jer. 31:14).  He shall crown this year with goodness and bless us (Ps. 65:11).

GOD’S GOOD GIFTS

The Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift comes from heaven above” (James 1:17). Our God will give us spiritual and material blessings (Rom. 15:27).

  1. GOODNESS OF GOD’S PROVISION

The God we worship provides for all our needs. In Jeremiah 31:12-14, the Lord declares, “they will come… they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord – the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds… and my people will be filled with my bounty.” We are aware of our increasing needs in this life. We strive hard to meet this. We live with worry and anxiety when our needs aren’t met. People shed tears, lamenting “Why do I have this difficulty?! Why this suffering for me?!” Dear ones, the Lord who bestows goodness is still alive today and he is unchanging. He will definitely meet all your needs.

  1. GOODNESS OF GOD’S PROTECTION

Our God protects us from evil and dangerous situations. The psalmist says, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you have wrought for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men! You hide them in the secret place of your presence from the conspiracies of man; you keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”(Ps 31:19-20). Our God is our protector. How does He protect us? The above verse says that he guards, keeps, and hides to protect us. How wonderful! Yes precious ones, this year God will protect you from evil schemes of man, wicked plans of the enemy and from all kinds of harms and diseases.

  1. GOODNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE

David, the man who loved God’s temple and his presence states, “We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple” (Ps. 64:4). When we give importance to church going and are eager to be in his presence, God bestows upon us every good blessing of the church. When we go to church, the Lord teaches us His ways (Isa. 2:3). The preaching in the church bring both warning and blessing to our lives. We read in Psalms 92:13 that “those planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.”

In spite of her crippled state for 18 years, the hunchback woman was regular to the synagogue. She went there consistently to worship the Lord and to hear God’s word. One day Jesus visited there and made her walk straight (Luke 13:10-13). The Lord heard the prayer of Hannah, who came to the temple and prayed with a vow, and healed her of bareness and turned her sorrow into joy (I Sam. 1: 9-20). There are many more spiritual and physical blessings like these. When we earnestly participate in church worship, he will fill us with the goodness of the temple.

What must I DO to receive the Good gifts

God’s good gifts are numerous. God is willing to give spiritual gifts such as, the joy of salvation, peace, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. God is also ready to give us physical blessings like, good family, good job, good income, good relationships and good health. The Bible insists that we must fulfil certain criteria to receive these blessings.

 

  1. Seek the Lord

The Scripture says, “The young lion may grow weak and hungry; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Ps. 34:10). God gives good gifts to everyone who seek him. To seek the Lord means to develop an intimate relationship with Him (Ps. 63:1). Seeking the Lord also means, integrating him in all the areas of our life and dedicate to do his will. Therefore, seek the Lord more than ever before this year. Grow in your relationship with God. Seek the Lord with all your heart; with all your strength. Seek him first and seek him always (Deut. 4:29; Ps. 105:4; Matt. 6:33). When we do so, we can receive the good things of the Lord and live a blessed life!

  1. Walk Upright

The word of the Lord says that, “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Ps. 84:11).  And the Lord says “...Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright?” (Micah 2: 7). God desires uprightness and holiness in our lives. Let us make our hearts and lives straight before the Lord. Let us rid ourselves of things that are not pleasing to God. Make good decisions this year like Daniel to live holy (Dan. 1:8) and dedicate yourselves to live a life of witness at home, in the workplace, and before everyone. Always be holy in word and deed (I Peter 1:15-16). Always fear the Lord. God was good to the Hebrew midwives who feared the Lord and refused to do evil. He made their families prosper (Exod. 1:15-21). The Bible says, “For the LORD is righteous, and the upright will see his face” (Ps. 11:7). God surely rewards such righteous ones. The Scripture says that, Caleb and Joshua inherited the assured good benefits of the Lord because they followed Him wholeheartedly and lived uprightly (Josh. 14:8-9).

  1. Pray to receive the Good Gifts

We read in Matthew 7:11 that, our Father in heaven will give good gifts to those who ask him! Our God listens when we pray; and the Lord did good to David, when he prayed (Ps. 13:3-6). When Solomon prayed God gave him wisdom. When Hannah prayed he gave her a child. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete,” said Jesus (John 16:24). So pray and obtain the good gifts that the Lord has in store for you this year. GOD BLESS YOU!!!

 

 

Some facts about the Bible

  1. There are 66 books (39+27) in the Bible
  2. There are 1189 (929+260) chapters and 31102 verses (23,145+7957) in the whole Bible.
  3. The Bible was divided into chapter by Stephen Langton in BC 1227. The Old Testament was further divided into verses by Nathan in AD 1448 and New Testament by Robert Stephenus in AD 1555.
  4. The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. The shortest chapter is Psalm 117. The longest book is Jeremiah and the shortest book is 3 John.
  5. The bible was written by 40 author in the span of 1600 years (BC 1500 – AD 100).
  6. John Wycliffe is credited with producing the first complete translation of the Bible into English in the year AD 1382. German missionary Zeiganbalg translated the Bible into Tamil in AD 1714. It is the first Biblical translation printed in an Indian language.
  7. As of September 2020 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,551 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,160 other languages. Thus at least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,415 languages.
  8. According to Guinness World Records, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time.  It is also the world’s most translated book!
  9. It takes just 72 hoursto finish reading the full Bible at the normal pace. If you read 12 chapters a day, you can finish reading in 3 months. If you read 6 chapters you can finish in 6 months and if you read 3 chapters you can finish in one year.

 

Love the Bible! Learn the Bible! Live the Bible!

Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night. Psalm 1:3