The definition of the word “Good” is vast and really depends
on how you use it. It can be an adjective, noun or adverb. And so I must define
my use for today. Good: adv,
well. “My mother was not a good cook.” is a true statement for me. LOL!
Truth is, I’m an excellent cook and it didn’t come via
training from my mother. I had an aunt who was a really good home cook. What
made her cooking so delightful and good, was, she had a knack for using leftovers
or whatever she had on hand to make a tasty meal. She took me under her wing
and taught me everything she knew.
She was a godly example of the older woman Titus was referring to. (Titus
2:3-5 Amp) click. But as the years passed,
I began to realize her way of cooking was far from healthy. It was good! But
with all the pork and animal fat used for flavoring, and cooking green
vegetables until they were dark green wasn’t the best. Yet, I was grateful
because she gave me a wonderful foundation for many things through her love and care.
As the years passed, I began to learn how to use fresh
herbs, garlic, and so much more. And it is still fun for me as I am learning
now how to cook and bake cutting back on my sodium intake. But I still have to
give credit to the foundation my aunt laid for me. I’ve just built on it over
the years. And I still don’t need to purchase expensive ingredients I’m only going
to use for one or two meals. I know how to pull it together from a pantry of
basic and everyday staples.
It’s the same with having a good Bible teacher and getting a
good foundation of God’s written Word.
“There’s no bible study in my area,” or “I can’t get to the
one at church.” These are no longer acceptable excuses. Nope! Not in this day
and age of cable TV, internet and radio.
All any of us needs is a good foundation, and we are on our
way.
I love HGTV and DIY home improvement shows. I’ve learned a
lot about house foundations and what happens or could happen when they run into
one that’s eroded over the years, or wasn’t built well from the beginning. Same
goes for our spiritual foundations.
There was a time in my life when I used to pray and ask God
for more faith. And to this day I
still have people asking me to stand with them for more faith. (Not in faith, but more faith.)
Well, the truth is—once you accept Christ as your Savior,
you receive all the faith you need or will ever get. But here is what we miss, our faith can be multiplied, strengthened and developed. We don’t get more…we get
stronger at exercising and building on it. It’s all part of, “becoming a new creature in
Christ.” No one had more faith on this earth than Christ, and no one ever will.
But the good news is, we are in Him, like Him, and seated with Him in heavily places. Now do you
really see God eking out faith a little bit at a time? I used to, but then I
didn’t know any better.
I could give you scriptures, but I’m not. It’s best to
search it out for yourself. Biblegateway can be a huge assistance to you if you
don’t know where to start or own a bible.
As we get older and the years start to accumulate on our
walk with Christ, we can become complacent or puffed up and think we got it
like that. And maybe not put as much effort into learning and growing as we
once did. But the truth is…like an old house erodes or the
not well maintained house begins to crumble, so will our faith in the
spirit realm—if not maintained.
We have become good at remembering what the Bible says, and
we have lived through a couple of trials and tribulations, and have experience on
our side. We are confident in what we know and before you know it—the busyness
of this world is taking up more time than Jesus. But that is okay, because we
got…so we think.
Samson fell into that trap. He thought he had it like that
and fell prey to his weakness for women that fueled a disobedient heart. (Judges
13-16) click. You may not have a weakness for women, but we all have weaknesses in
our lives and we can either conquer them or allow them to conquer us.
Though I’m a good cook and baker, I’ve found that if I
haven’t made something from scratch in awhile—the first time I make it—it’s
never my best. I have to make it a couple of times more to get back the right ump. Same goes for us using our faith.
When life is pretty good for awhile and you haven’t really
put in the time and effort to keep your faith built up—when life unscripted
shows up, it can knock you off your feet. And trust me…it’s going to show up!
I wonder how many Christians lost everything in the wild
fire in Alberta, Canada a few weeks ago? Or in the mid-west from the tornadoes a
couple of weeks ago? What about the flooded homes and ranches in Texas this
week? Well, trust me there are a bunch of us right now who are homeless, and
jobless because of life unscripted events.
Everyone desires to be good at something. But mostly to show
off for others or we attach our self-worth and self-esteem to what we do well
or are good at. Because by the world’s standards, it defines who we are. I
understand motivation can also come from a root of rejection. Never feeling you
were good enough or worth enough. But you see sisters, in Christ Jesus—it is
all about the adverb—good!
In the Kingdom, it’s all about becoming good at using the
benefits of the Cross.
We can become so good at Kingdom living. But I must warn you, it will not be for public display. It may only be
between you and the Heavenly Host. You won’t be able to brag about it (well,
let’s hope not), and no atta girl awards will be passed out. But you know what—that’s
okay!
I am good at—going to God with my problems before I go to
anyone else. I’m good at—being quick to forgive, slow to speak and slow at becoming
angry. I’m working on being good—at listening and obeying the instructions of
the Holy Spirit. You see what I'm talking about here. There are so many things to work on being good at in Kingdom living!
Whip out your Bibles on a daily bases, and read, read and
study! Need someone to study with—ask God—He will supply. In order to be good
at anything, we first need a good foundation to build on. If you make Jesus your foundation, then erosion and deterioration will never happen. But how strong the house will be...is.up to you!
Until next week...
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