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“Goodness Offered Omnipotently Daily !” (G.O.O.D)

Publisher
Ramesh C. Reddy

SCRIPTURE:
“Good teacher,” He asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good---except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18, NIV)

OBSERVATIONS:

I asked myself, what is Jesus’ response to the man’s question?
1. Jesus asks, “Why do you call me good?”
2. Jesus answered, “No one is good.”
3. Jesus answered, except God alone.

INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself the significance of Jesus asking, “Why do you call me good?”
I found it so significant that Jesus asks, “Why do you call me good?” because Jesus already knows Scriptures from Psalm 14, Isaiah 53, from Isaiah 64, and so on that state these important truths:

“The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.” They (humanity) are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1-3, NIV)

“We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6, NIV)

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.” (Isaiah 64:6-7, NIV)

Jesus wanted the man to understand the tremendous implications of calling Jesus “Good Teacher”. By letting him know, “No one is good---except God alone.”, Jesus is setting the stage to reveal His divinity even as He walked in His humanity. Jesus would eventually reveal that He is God.

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)

IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what the implications for my own life are here.
I fall under mankind, which means that I am not good. No one is good except God alone. If that is the case, why am I even following Jesus? Because Jesus is God. To know the existence of God, all I need to do is know Jesus and believe in Him. All I need to do is give my life to Him so His goodness can be seen through me as I walk in the Spirit so I do not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

I ask you now, dear friend, if you believe Jesus is good in life, what should your response be?
Dear friend, if you believe Jesus is good, then there are profound implications for your life, both now and in the future. Remember, Jesus said, “No one is good --- except God alone.” So, if you believe Jesus is good, you cannot think that without believing Jesus is God. If you believe that, you must acknowledge His divinity. It is not enough to think that Jesus is just a good teacher. Of course, Jesus is a good teacher, but Jesus is more than that. By acknowledging Jesus’ goodness, you must admit that He is God because God alone is good, and no human being is good according to God’s standards. Believing Jesus is God should also put the existence of God to rest. God exists, and Jesus is proof of that, as He walked the earth in both His Humanity and Divinity. If you believe Jesus is good in life, your allegiance should be to Jesus alone, knowing that you are giving your allegiance to God. There is no middle ground. You cannot just say Jesus is a good teacher and leave it at that.

Whether you are an Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, etc, and believe Jesus is good in life, there can be no other response but to bow to Him because He is God. God alone is good! The Gospel of John focuses more on the Divinity of Jesus, showing us that He is God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He (Jesus) was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life (Jesus), and that life was the light (Jesus) of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, NIV)

Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the Truth; your Word is Truth.” (John 17:17, NIV)

Jesus said, “I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7, NIV)

Jesus said, “I AM the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” (John 8:12, NIV)

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)

Two weeks ago, Elder Philip reminded the congregation that he learned in seminary that every sermon should be evangelistic, pointing people to Christ, and that the Gospel should be revealed from Genesis to Revelation, for there is Redemption Through the Scriptures in Christ Jesus. I loved when Pastor Ed, Pastor Hugo, Pastor Bucknell, Pastor Mike, Pastor Josh, Pastor Jesse, Pastor Lake, Pastor Terence, Pastor Steve, Pastor Ridge, Elder Calvin, Elder Philip, and campus minister Eugene used sermons to be evangelistic and point to Christ.

So, even though I don’t give sermons, when I study God’s Word, I look to see how what I am learning points to Christ and the Gospel so it can be evangelistic. May you do the same when you study God’s Word.

“Goodness Offered Omnipotently Daily!” (G.O.O.D)/” If you believe Jesus is good in life, what should your response be?”

May you respond only one way and turn to Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior, who alone can save because He alone is good, and He is God!

“But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:8-15, NIV)

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I  struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me too. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help!

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