The Goodness of the Lord

In my daily reading of Scripture, some verses popped out to me. After I was encouraged by them, I thought others might be encouraged as well.

1 Peter 2:2-3 “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (ESV)

The Lord is good! In every circumstance we face, He is good! He is always good! We have tasted of His goodness. As we long to taste more of His goodness, and as we act on that longing by feeding upon the pure spiritual milk of Scripture, we will indeed taste more of His goodness, for the Scriptures teach of His abounding salvation, salvation into which we are growing up.

1 Peter 2:25 “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (ESV)

We experience the Lord’s goodness as we live under the shepherding care of the Lord, as our soul is under the oversight of the Lord. We strayed because we thought goodness was found outside His authority. But everything outside the shepherding care of the Lord turns out to be vain, empty. True goodness is only found in Christ as we live under His grace and Lordship.

Living on the Foundation of Grace

Here are nine practical suggestions for cultivating a life built on the foundation of the grace of Christ:

1. Start your day by thanking God for Christ's sacrifice and your salvation
2. Set aside a regular time each day for the Word and prayer
3. Spend this time alone with the Lord
4. Start by asking the Lord to show you your sins, and confessing them
5. Read Scripture for the purpose of finding one verse or idea to apply to your life
6. Look for truths not just to obey, but also to trust in and praise God for
7. Write out a prayer of meditation and response
8. Every time you are convicted of sin, thank God for this evidence of His grace
9. Every time you face a trial, thank God for this evidence of His grace

The Riddle of the Old Testament

In Exodus 34:6-7, the Lord reveals Himself to Moses, saying, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty...” (ESV).

Here is the great riddle of the Old Testament. The Lord forgives sin; yet He by no means clears the guilty. How can this be? The answer is seen in the cross of Christ. Christ took our sin and guilt upon Himself, and suffered there for our sins. In this way God has forgiven us who believe in Christ. We are no longer guilty, for Christ took our guilt and suffered its penalty! The Lord says He is “abounding” in steadfast love and faithfulness. Because Christ died for us and
has been raised for us, God is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness to you who believe! Satan doesn’t want the Christian to see this or believe this. He wants us to look at the trials we are going through and conclude that God doesn't love us. We must fight against Satan’s lies every day! We must fight to treasure God’s abounding love toward us. Nothing can separate us from it!