WordJourney

“God Is Good, All The Time…All The Time, God Is Good.”

The above saying is something I heard most Sunday mornings when my then pastor, Ed Banghart, started off his sermons. It was a fitting reminder to God’s children that He is, indeed, good.

We’ve since moved away from New Jersey where Pastor Banghart’s church is located, but that saying still resonates in my head. And that is a good thing too: there are many arguments being made that God is not good:

• Arguments from people outside of the Body of Christ who are hurt, deceived by sin, and held in captivity by the devil.

• Arguments by the world, which is looking for answers but not seeking the One who can provide the answer.

• Arguments by our flesh, which is dying and just hates to think that God has our best interest at heart.

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works - Psalm 145:8,9

God must proclaim His goodness because He cannot do otherwise. He does not change, He cannot lie, therefore His declarations are true.

Like many people, I have reason to doubt His goodness. My younger brother died at the age of 9 from leukemia. About two years later our house caught fire and all of my possessions were lost. I never really got the chance to know my father who died when I turned 21. There are many more that I could dwell on, but I choose not to.

But, there are reasons that I know God is good: He spared me when I turned my back on Him. He has kept my path straight even when I seek to go off of it. He promises to finish the work that He began in me.

If God wasn’t good, all hope would be lost. Cult leaders may lie, preachers may fall, others may disappoint, and I will fail at times, but the word of God endures forever.

Thankfully, God isn’t like us: fickle, loveless, and seeking our own way first. God didn’t have to manifest Himself in the flesh to save us, but He chose to do so. I may not be able to wrap my mind around everything, but believing that God is love is something I understand deep down in my spirit.

Today, I choose to believe the truth: God Is Good — All The Time!

I listened to some news clips today, excerpts from the preachings of a certain preacher who is the pastor for one of the presidential candidates. I won’t share the details of what he said, but the language he used was disturbing. If there is anyone who is misapplying what the Bible says, this man does it.

As Christians, we aren’t to exalt any man as we all fall short and are prone to make mistakes. I would like to think that what this pastor said were isolated incidents, but the clips were from at least two different messages some four years apart.

I’m not going to exalt my pastor, but I will say this: I have never heard him say anything flagrantly offensive or demeaning toward anyone the three plus years that my family has attended his church. Our pastor sticks to the word of God, going line by line and addressing issues as they come up. Making political hay out of something isn’t his style and for that I am grateful.

I have sat under the teachings of pastors and preachers who said things I didn’t agree with, even leaving one church after I discovered that there wasn’t common ground for us to continue fellowshipping together. Yes, this is a strong statement and move to make, but it was necessary.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we should pray for our pastors and if something is said that is highly offensive or upsetting, to talk with him and him alone about the matter. In most cases everything should clear up, but in the event that it doesn’t you should move on after exhaustively working toward reconcilement.

Are you proud of your pastor? Without any doubt, I know that I can say that I am.

Photo courtesy of Craig Jewell.