Tag Archives: infinite goodness

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Battling Ego

Leave a comment

Our Daily Bread

James 4:6-17

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. —James 4:6

Bible in a Year: Job 30-31; Acts 13:26-52

When a general returned from a victorious battle, ancient Rome would stage a parade to welcome the conqueror home. The parade would include the general’s troops, as well as trophy captives who had been brought along as evidence of the victory. As the parade made its way through the city, the crowds would cheer their hero’s success.

To prevent the general’s ego from becoming unduly swollen, a slave rode along with him in his chariot. Why? So that as the Roman throngs heaped praise on the general, the slave could continually whisper in his ear, “You too are mortal.”

When successful, we too may lose sight of our own frailty and allow our hearts to fill with destructive pride. James pointed us away from the danger of pride by pointing us to humility and to God. He wrote, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). The key to that statement is grace. Nothing is more wonderful! The Lord alone deserves thanks and praise—especially for the grace He has lavished on us.

Our achievements, success, or greatness are not rooted in ourselves. They are the product of God’s matchless grace, upon which we are eternally dependent.

New mercies every morning,

Grace for every day,

New hope for every trial,

And courage all the way. —Mc Veigh

God’s grace is infinite love expressing itself through infinite goodness.

Uncategorized

Charles Stanley – Expressions of God’s Goodness

1 Comment

 

Psalm 103

We often think of God’s goodness in terms of our tangible blessings and upbeat events. While these surely are expressions of divine goodness, we should not interpret God’s love only by how He demonstrates it in positive circumstances. We often experience His goodness best in our darkest hours—in those situations, He shows Himself to be good in deeper ways, as He alone can (2 Cor. 12:9).

One way the Lord expresses goodness is through His mercy—the tender-hearted compassion He has for us. In the Bible, mercy is usually mentioned in the context of God’s concern for people who are needy or suffering. We constantly see Jesus filled with compassion and ministering because of this mercy (Mark 1:41). He healed many people who cried out to Him for mercy because they recognized their neediness (Matt. 9:27-29).

Remember, it wasn’t the self-righteous Pharisee who was blessed, but the sinful tax collector who realized that he didn’t deserve God’s favor and begged for mercy (Luke 18:9-14). In response to our distress, God offers comfort, not because we’ve earned it, but because He is good. Also keep in mind that through Jesus’ worthiness and sacrifice, all who trust Him as Savior have great worth in God’s eyes(2 Cor. 5:21).

Another expression of our heavenly Father’s goodness is grace. A just God cannot overlook sin, yet because of His infinite goodness and love, He chose to pay our penalty for us. We have access to God’s grace only through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Every day, we should remind ourselves of the Father’s extraordinary goodness to us and thank Him for it.