Do You Believe, God, Is Good

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure, or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”

-A.W. Tozer

Do You Know That God Is Good

Two words we hear a lot as Christians are theology and doctrine. For the most part, we have a basic understanding of these words and what they mean. These are the definition I found online. I want to break them down in a way that maybe you haven’t heard before and maybe get you to think in a new way.

theology | thē-ŏl′ə-jē

...The study of the nature of God and religious truth; a rational

inquiry into religious questions.

doc·trine | \ ˈdäk-trən \

a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of

knowledge or system of belief: DOGMA Catholic doctrine

The foundation of the wrong Doctrine is bad Theology. The cure for lousy Theology is a relational experience in the knowledge of God. Having an intellectual understanding and acceptance of God is not going to be enough to get you through to the other side of this. But knowing the Goodness of God and experiencing the Love he has for you as his child will fill a lifetime devotion that nothing and no one can take away from you. It is out of this relationship the abundant life flows "For God is good - or rather, out of all goodness He is the Fountainhead."( Athanasius of Alexandria ). The cure to your inability to get it right is to know you don’t have to, that is his job, and he has already accomplished what he set out to do. So what seems like a sanctification process to us is nothing more than us getting our stinkin’ thinkin’ changed; this is our metanoia, our repentance.

I want to make it clear that no experience should ever take precedence over scripture. That being said, often, our interpretation of scripture, whether we care to admit it or not, doesn’t line up with the heart of God. In other words, our interpretations of scripture can be and often are just as subjective as experiential encounters. The truth is that our experiences in life become our basis for proception when studying scripture. A typical example of experience affecting our understanding of who God is, and ultimately involving our interpretation of scripture, is our earthly Fathers. If we had a father that was absent, abusive, or overbearing, that experience in life can, deep in our hearts, cause us to view God as distant, angry, or hard to please. If you don’t think this will affect your understanding of scripture, you are wrong. That is why we must have an intimate relationship with Abba. Having an encounter with the love of Abba will effectively sanctify your theology. And don’t be afraid to get the Doctrine wrong sometimes. We get more wrong than right most of the time. Just keep your eyes on Jesus, and your Doctrine will grow and mature with you on the journey.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:3

This Christian life is meant to be a spiritual life. This is why the Scriptures say to test the spirits to see if they are of God (1Jn 4:1). If we aren’t meant to have spiritual encounters with Abba, Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Angels, why would we need this instruction?

I don’t want to freak anyone out. And Abba will never put more on you than you can handle. However Scripture also says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So this is a source of excitement and adventure in life, because we want to know God, and we want to experience everything in God that there is to experience.  

So be blessed and encouraged to boldly pursue God.