Fellowship & Community

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional – Day 9

1 John 3:1-3

Goodness and Adoption

In looking for a word to aptly describe God’s goodness toward us in adopting us as His children, John employs the word “lavished”. As a verb, lavish means to “bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on.”  What a great description of God’s goodness – “generous” and “extravagant”. The goodness of God is plentiful. It abounds. Don’t think trickling stream; think roaring river. In truth, there is no limit to God’s goodness and love.

Our human experience tells us that goodness is carefully meted out as a reward for our good behavior. In God’s economy, however, the process is reversed. Knowing and experiencing God’s great unconditional love toward us is what leads us to desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Take a few minutes to meditate on this scripture. Think deeply about the goodness of God toward you. Allow the river of His love and kindness to flow over you and thank Him for His undeserved favor.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional – Day 8

Psalms 118:1-29

Goodness and Thanksgiving


I love Thanksgiving Day! Family, food, football – what could be better? It’s a huge celebration for our family, but not just because of all of the traditional festivities. Thanksgiving is special because it’s a great reminder of everything we have to be thankful to God for. For a Christ-follower, Thanksgiving is not simply a date on the calendar; it’s a lifestyle. The goodness of God is something to celebrate. Honestly, it’s something to be in awe of.

Let’s face it – we live in a culture of entitlement. It’s far too easy for us to slip into a mindset that tells us we deserve all the good things of life and more. A great antidote for a spirit of entitlement is to be intentionally thankful, as the writer of Psalm 118 was.

Read through this Psalm again. This time take note of all the things the Psalmist is thankful for. Can you identify with any of them? Take some time today to simply be in awe of the goodness of God toward you.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 7

Isaiah 61:1-11

Goodness and Justice

Isaiah 61 is a beautiful display of God’s goodness as He reveals His intentions for future blessing and total restoration of all things. In particular, a huge part of God’s future restoration will be the establishment of perfect justice. God demonstrates His goodness by administering justice for all. We see glimpses of justice now but, one day, God’s justice will prevail and be put into full effect.

Speaking in the first person, God says,

“For I the Lord love justice;

I hate robbery and wrong;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.” – Isaiah 61:8

As Christians we are to do more than simply wait for future justice, we are to stand for and practice justice now, particularly when it comes to orphans, widows, the poor, the neglected and abused, and those who are being treated unjustly. Let’s not only be thankful for the goodness of God, let’s determine to be reflections of that goodness. Let’s put justice into practice. Who do you need to pray for? Who do you need to stand up for? Who do you need to serve? Allow God’s good justice to flow through your life to the world around you.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 6

Psalms 27:1-14

We Don’t Have to Wait

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in heaven and I’m looking forward to it. Heaven is the eternal destiny and ultimate reward awaiting every Christ-follower. Our hearts long for the sovereign rule of God and the sweetness of unencumbered intimacy with our Lord. It is, however, a big mistake to think that we must wait until we are in heaven to experience the goodness of God. David fully expected to experience the goodness of God in the present as well as the future.

“I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13

Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “Life is hard. And then you die.” It’s kind of sarcastically humorous, but unfortunately, it is a lie that many people have bought into. If we choose to see the evil around us, we can. If we choose to see the goodness of God, we will see it all around us. We often miss God’s goodness because we’re just not paying attention or we’re too focused on the struggles and difficulties of life. David wraps up this Psalm with this word of advice:

“Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

If you happen to find yourself in the midst of one of life’s storms right now, hold on tight to the Lord. This storm will pass. They all do. Keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus and remain confident that you will see and know the goodness of God.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 5

Psalms 23:1-6

The Good Life

David understood what “the good life” really was. He knew it had nothing to do with wealth, position, or power. It has everything to do with a real relationship with a loving God. Long before David enjoyed life in the palace, he had experienced the goodness of God out in the fields tending the family sheep. As he was doing his best to be a good shepherd, his heart was at peace knowing that he was under the watchful eye and loving care of the Great Shepherd.

These early lessons about the goodness of God would serve as a source of faith and strength for David’s entire life. When he needed courage, God was there. When he needed wisdom, God was there. When he needed forgiveness, God was there. When he needed hope, God was there. The Great Shepherd was always there for David and He is always there for you!

Read through this Psalm again, making a mental list of all the ways the Great Shepherd is good to you. Meditate on His goodness. One by one, thank Him for all the wonderful ways He demonstrates His goodness towards you.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 4

Psalms 145:1-21

Goodness and Declaration

Life and faith are released when we speak forth the truth of God’s word. Psalm 145 in packed full of truth about the goodness of God. This great Psalm also encourages us to declare God’s goodness in a variety of different ways. Verses 4 through 7 say,

“One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”

Read through this section again and take note of the various ways we can declare the goodness of God.

·  Commend

·  Tell

·  Speak

·  Proclaim

·  Celebrate

·  Joyfully sing

Wow! Imagine the power of putting this into practice! I want to encourage you today to do just what this Psalm is telling us to do. Declare that God is good. Think about His goodness. Speak of His goodness. Maybe even get really crazy and sing about His goodness. The power of God’s goodness is released upon our lives and the lives of others as we confidently declare it!

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 3

Titus 3:1-8

Goodness and Grace

We have been conditioned to believe that good things come to us only if we are worthy of them. Our minds have been trained toward karma thinking. While it is true that the principle of sowing and reaping is fairly consistent in life, we also need to know that God’s goodness toward us is founded solely upon His grace and not our performance. Even when we are not good, God is and will always be good.

Many times we talk ourselves out of believing that God has something good for us because we are painfully aware of our unworthiness of His goodness. Today’s scripture is a powerful reminder that while none of us are worthy of God’s goodness, we are recipients of His unmerited grace. Titus 3:4-5 says, “…when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.”

The powerful reality of God’s goodness based solely upon His grace and not our performance is both mind blowing and life changing. Today, I invite you to receive God’s grace and goodness, not because you deserve it, but because God is good. Take time to meditate on the goodness of God. Bask in His kindness and rejoice in His grace.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 2

Genesis 3:1-12

The Lie

The lie of all lies is the lie that God is not good. The serpent not only deceived Eve into questioning the word of God, but also questioning the goodness of God. Questioning the goodness of God led Adam and Eve to search for a better life for themselves in the exact place where God had warned them they would find death. Questioning the goodness of God is exactly what the devil wants us to do.

The Bible is full of teaching, stories, and examples of the goodness of God. It is an essential truth that is vital to your spiritual health. As we journey through this reading plan, we will be exploring what the Bible reveals about the goodness of God. This is a truth the devil doesn’t want you to know.

As you begin this journey, ask the Lord to reveal the truth of His goodness to you. Look intently into His word and discover His goodness. Know His goodness not just as biblical truth, but as a life-changing revelation.

FCC Daily Devotional

FCC Daily Devotional Day 1

Psalms 34:1-22

Is God Really Good?

“God is good.” Everyone who’s been a Christian for a while has heard this statement a thousand times. In fact, we hear it so often it can start to sound kind of cliché-ish. We hear it. We say it. We sing it. But do we really believe it?

For the next 21 days we are going to be exploring what the Bible has to tell us about the goodness of God. My prayer for you is that God would reveal His goodness to you in fresh and life-giving ways. Knowing the goodness of God is truly transformative.

David wrote in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” Interesting choice of words don’t you think? The goodness of God is so real, so profound, we can actually taste it within our soul. It is more than something we hear about and read about and sing about; it’s something we can personally experience and take in and enjoy.

A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” I don’t believe Tozer is overreaching. How we view God will influence all of our thinking. One of the most important things about maintaining healthy perspective on life is to make sure that we have a biblically accurate view of who God is. And the best way to do that is to regularly, systematically read and meditate on scripture.

As you begin this 21-day journey, I invite you to pray a simple prayer with me asking God to reveal His goodness to you in a deep, personal, meaningful way. Your confidence in the goodness of God must be authentic. It must come from deep within, for when it is real to you it will change your life.