Please read the intro below and then jump to today’s topic (you can see these along the side bar to the right, also it should be the post pinned to the top of the home page.
How will this work:
Read the intro portion below. Underneath that you will find daily 1 or 2 daily topics in the comments section. Under each comment is a a green word “reply”. If you click on that you can make comments on that particular comment. If you want to make a general comment on the whole thread, there is a white box at the very bottom of the post for general comments. Monday’s scripture focus is on God’s faithfulness and goodness towards Adam and Eve before and after the fall. You can jump in and share verses that God brings to your mind as we go. I would love to hear what He is revealing to you all in these verses. Just like what we do in a group. Share what jumps out to you in each verse. Let’s encourage one another, and be blessed by the Word together.
As I was falling asleep last night, one of my last thoughts (I jotted it down so I wouldn’t forget) was a mental note to spend some time daily thinking about how faithful and good and loving God has consistently been from the beginning of time. I had the grandios idea of starting at the beginning of the Bible and jotting down each scripture that highlights His goodness especially in spite of mankind’s shortfalls and sin and spending a bit of time thanking Him for each one. I chuckle this morning realizing that I would be coying our half the Bible to do so. I am going to change the format of the posts a bit through this enforced time of separation to encourage commentary and the expression of many view points. I will make individual points in the form of comments and encourage you to reply to the ones you want to so this can be far more interactive. So make sure you read the comments as the bulk of this post will actually be found there.
Romans 4 is one of the most common scriptures that comes to my heart and that I share with others. Abraham grasped something that set him apart from a whole generation of people. He really believed God and trusted in His goodness and faithfulness. His confidence was in God’s nature and character, not in his own human strength and capacity. As you invest time in chewing on God’s immense and unchanging track record of heroically revealing Himself and His goodness, His love, grace and mercy throughout the entirety of creation, I believe we will all be immensely encouraged that He will continue to do and be as He always has been.
Romans 4:19-21 World English Bible (WEB) “19 Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 Yet, looking to the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.”
Perhaps one of my personal all time favourite stories is the parable of the Lost Son. Not only has this man wandered away from the Lord and done things detestable in His sight, but he has literally squandered His inheritance (earned by his father and not by his own works) on despicable living. And yet, at the slightest indication of humility and repentance, the Father rushes out to meet and restores, celebrates his return and embraces him once more as his child. God is truly only one heartfelt sincere prayer or humility or repentance away from everyone He feels far off from.
Matthew 13:14-16 World English Bible (WEB) “14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive; 15 for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’Isaiah 6:9-10 16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.”
This poignant verse in Matthew for me echoes the cry of our Loving Heavenly Father spoken back in Deuteronomy. The Lord longs for us to receive the full inheritance He has laid aside for us. If you haven’t had a chance to read the letter I wrote to my mom before she passed, it is something that changed my perception for ever. What I heard was that, God has prepared a place for you in His eternal home. Some translations say a room, others say a mansion… Eternally, God misses those whose room/mansion remain empty. For those who have lost a child or loved one, the impact of looking at a room decorated for, containing the clothing, personal items, toys etc brings this truth home in an even more powerful way. What I heard that day was God say that He will forever have a hole in His own heart, a knowing that someone He loves is missing from the picture. That makes me weep even to this day. Oh that His love, goodness and faithfulness would be etched so deeply in our hearts and minds that no circumstance possible could ever shake us or discourage us. This is my own heart’s desire for each one of us.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (WEB) “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants,”
Perhaps say a little prayer before jumping in along the lines of the one below….
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask for eyes to see and ears to hear and the ability to understand Your Word. Please soften any hard places in my heart and help me to share in love, truth, gentleness, humility and kindness and be a blessing to each one who jumps into this study. In Jesus Christ’s name.
Healing and Discipleship 
Monday’s Topic: The goodness of God towards man as expressed in Genesis Pre-Fall.
Genesis 1 (WEB)”26 God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.”
Genesis 2 WEB ” No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6 but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.”
Genesis 2 9 ” Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “
The little details get me… pleasant to the sight. God made things beautiful just for our pleasure. Psalm 35:27 New Living Translation (NLT) “27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”
Genesis 2:18 Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
What an incredible thing to think about. God considered every single detail in order to create a “home”/habitat for humanity. The temperature was just right (had to be as they had no clothes), the plants were watered from beneath, everything they needed was provided for them, they knew exactly what their purpose was, they got to talk to God every single day and hear His voice. He crafted a world full or intense beauty and abounding provision for every single one of their needs. His thoughtfulness and attention to detail are still visible today even in the fallen state. He had angels to minister to us. I encourage you to read through this portion of scripture and thank God for all the wonders He created that delight us to this day. Sunsets, stars, flowers, impossible diversities or plants and animals etc..
It looks like pre fall God purposed for us to have all our nutritional needs met through vegetables ,including the animals.
Amen! So simple.
https://wordpress.com/post/healinganddiscipleship.com/3393 I was going to direct everyone to chat on this post here… I realized the format on this post might be too complicated. If you can click on the link it will take you over
Monday’s second topic: Immediately after the fall: How was God grace, love and mercy expressed after Adam and Eve broke His one and only prohibition?
Considering Job… How was God’s goodness and faithfulness revealed in Job’s lifetime?
The goodness of God as expressed toward’s Abraham?
The goodness of God towards Isaac?
Towards Jacob and Esau?
Towards Joseph?
Towards the Israelites in the time of Moses…
The mercies and grace as expressed to the Jericho generation after Mose’s death:
Towards Naome and Ruth…
Towards the other well known heroes of the Bible like Samson, Esther, Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Nehemiah etc….
The faithfulness and mercies of God as expressed during the lifetime of Jesus here on earth in the flesh pre-resurrection:
The goodness and love of God expressed to the disciples post resurretion pre-pentecost
The faithfulness of God as revealed all through the book of Acts and the Letters to the various churches
The faithfulness and love of God as expressed in the book of Revelation
Personal testimonies of God’s mercy, faithfulness and grace in our own lives today
The many verses that express God’s faithfulness, love, mercy and grace through the Psalms and Proverbs
God’s faithfulness and hand in the life of King David
Pingback: Daily Live Bible Study Sunday through Friday from 11 to noon ??? | Healing and Discipleship
Thank you!
Pingback: Monday March 23, 2020 Group Bible Study on the Goodness and Faithfulness of God | Healing and Discipleship
Pondering the DETAIL in which God cares and provides for His people in the past is truly overwhelming! But in having our eyes open to see how He doesn’t miss a thing and is caring for us with the same attention to detail ,I’m beginning to understand how we are drawn into a more intimate relationship with Him which is what I believe He wants and longs for from us as individuals. .
Pingback: March 24, 2020 Daily Bible Study on God’s Goodness and faithfulness | Healing and Discipleship
Pingback: Wednesday March 25, 2020 Bible Study on God’s Goodness and Faithfulness all through history | Healing and Discipleship