God is Good – Would that explain why God is in a good mood and does good? God is good y’all!

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Image result for god is good All God’s perfect qualities are made freely available to all for the benefit of the whole world. God is good.

Jesus alerts us that God alone is good. God is good, kind, thoughtful, compassionate and loving. God is good, kind, thoughtful, compassionate and loving.

God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die for us. God is good y’all.

Because God is good, God is in a good mood. It is a myth that the old testament (aka covenant) is all about an angry God. As James alerts us

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” |James 1:17

God never varies from being good. At all. Ever!

Not only is God good and in a good mood. God does good. His actions are grounded in goodness. As King David says about God, “You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.” Jesus challenges me to understand the scope of God’s goodness. “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

But doesn’t the scripture talk about God getting angry? Yes it does. And it talks about Jesus getting angry. And it says it is ok if we get angry as long as we get over it quickly. Anger is not the opposite of goodness. God is good and he is always good. Anger is to be indignant and to grieve about someone. It is not the emotional outbursts of evil people.

God is many things. They are not mutually exclusive. God is the God of “Yes / And”. God is good, God is jealous, God is love, and on and on it goes. No matter what, God is good and He is in a good mood. There is a huge difference between “God is good” and “getting angry”. God gets angry but God is not angry. One is a permanent state and the other is temporary.

God alone is good – Jesus is very direct about this. Goodness starts with God and with God alone.

Mark 10:18 (NASB) — 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”

God demonstrates his goodness in his actions – God not only is good but more importantly, God does good. God acts on His goodness and demonstrates it to us.

Psalm 119:68 (NASB) — 68 You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
2 Chronicles 30:18 (NASB) — 18 For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon
Nehemiah 9:20 (NASB) — 20 “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst.
Psalm 73:1 (NASB) — 1 Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!
Psalm 143:10 (NASB) — 10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Acts 10:38 (NASB) — 38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Romans 2:4 (NASB) — 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

God demonstrates his goodness in his work of creation – God is God and perfect. Everything He made is good. Nothing is to be rejected by us. In fact, God, at creation, declared it all was very good! Most excellent! Stunning! Amazing!

1 Timothy 4:4 (NASB) — 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
Genesis 1:4 (NASB) — 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:31 (NASB) — 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Psalm 145:9 (NASB) — 9 The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.

God demonstrates his goodness in his love – God demonstrates his goodness in His love for us. God loves us so much, He gave His only Son to be sacrificed for us. Now that is good and that is real love.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB) — 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
1 Chronicles 16:34 (NASB) — 34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 25:7–8 (NASB) — 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
Psalm 69:16 (NASB) — 16 Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
Psalm 100:5 (NASB) — 5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

God demonstrates his goodness in his gifts – God gives us wonderful gifts, just like any father would do. If I ask for bread, will God give me a snake?

James 1:17 (NASB) — 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Numbers 13:27 (NASB) — 27 Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
Deuteronomy 8:7 (NASB) — 7 “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
Deuteronomy 26:11 (NASB) — 11 and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
Hebrews 9:11 (NASB) — 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;

God demonstrates his goodness in his promises – God is good in that I can count on His word. God is faithful.

Joshua 23:14–15 (NASB) — 14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15 “It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
2 Samuel 7:28 (NASB) — 28 “Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.
1 Kings 8:56 (NASB) — 56 “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.
Jeremiah 29:10 (NASB) — 10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

God demonstrates his goodness in his commands – Jesus challenges me to love. That is God’s most important command. That is in my best interest and is a good thing.

Psalm 119:39 (NASB) — 39 Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.
Psalm 19:7 (NASB) — 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
Romans 7:12 (NASB) — 12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7:16 (NASB) — 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
Romans 12:2 (NASB) — 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.