One who does good is of God:

3 John 11

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

            Little children like to imitate their fathers or mothers. Those not born of God imitate their father the devil. We are born of God, so we should be imitating our Father by doing what is good. You can tell who is of God. They are consistently doing good. If someone is consistently doing evil, that person most likely is not born of God. We are not to judge one another, but as someone once said, “We are to be fruit inspectors.” If someone is not bringing forth good fruits, it’s unlikely that person is a Christian. We should be very careful in our association with that person. That doesn’t mean to avoid them, but don’t let your guard down. Those that profess to be Christians but don’t live the lifestyle of a Christian can most easily bring down a true Christian. They can bring temptation that is hard for believers that are not well grounded to resist. Christians aren’t tempted to do “really bad things” like robbing banks, but they could be tempted to take a little something that belongs to the company they work for especially when “everyone is doing it”.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children, when you are of Me, then you will behave like Me. I am good, and those that are Mine are also good. There is no one who is of Me that is not good. You will know those that are Mine by the way they act. If they act like Me, then they are Mine. If they act like their father the devil, then they are not Mine.”

            28. I am born of God. Therefore I will imitate what is good. I will do what I see my Father doing.

Not slow about His promises:

2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

            I want it yesterday! Isn’t that the American way? We all want whatever is ours without delay. Sometimes it seems as if God has forgotten us. But as the song says, “He’s an on time God … Yes, He is.” He is never late. We might be late, but He never is. That’s because He knows it’s going to happen before it actually occurs. So, He has everything in place to come to our aid. Have you ever asked Him for something and either never got it or there was a “long” delay? Then something happened, and you realize that it was a good thing it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Either a bad thing would have happened or something not as good as what finally did occur.

            Of course this verse is mainly talking about people getting saved, but I believe it can be applied to our every day life situations.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have promised much to you, My children; and I intend to bring it to pass. If you say, ‘He’s forgotten about me’, you do not believe what I have told you in My Word and with My voice. I have spoken many times and in many ways to you to try to get you to understand that I only want good for you. You get impatient waiting for Me to do what I said I would do. Do not despair. I will do what I said I would do at the right time. It is not time for despair. It is time for rejoicing. For when you rejoice, you are testifying that you believe that I will do what I said I would do.”

            27. My God is on time and never late. He meets my every need at just the right moment.

More things about our relationship with the Father:

            Full of compassion and merciful:

James 5:11

11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

            Some of us had fathers that were not very compassionate and had no mercy. It is hard to think of our Heavenly Father as being full of both. He never does anything to hurt us. If He disciplines us, it is for our own good; so that we will have the best life possible. If He were not full of compassion and merciful, He would have wiped us off the face of the earth a long time ago. That’s what we deserve. Thank God He gives us what we desire, not what we deserve. He truly does know what is best for us and makes sure we get it. Jesus suffered in the flesh, and so He can sympathize with our frailties. We should never take His compassion and mercy for granted. We should do our best to allow His Holy Spirit to live His life in us at all times.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have no desire to harm you, My children. I would have all that comes upon you to be good. I would have all that you see to be a delight to your eyes. Trust in Me that I desire that no harm come to you. You are My delight, and I would have all that comes upon you to be good. Trust in Me as I lead you into your destiny.”

            26. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful towards me even when I stumble.

He is at work in us:

            His workmanship (poem):

           

Ephesians 2:10

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

            First of all it says that we are His workmanship. He did it, not someone else. He didn’t just rubberstamp it either. He took a special interest in making us. The Greek word here is the same one from which we get our word poem. We are His poem! When someone writes a poem, they take special thought and effort to do so. It takes on a part of the author too. When God “wrote” us, we took on a part of Him also.

            Why did He create us in Christ Jesus? It was for good works. Too many times Christians go to one extreme or the other. One side will be all about good works. They are constantly looking for good works to do. It is easy to believe that you’re salvation depends on the good works you do. If you believe that way, you can become obsessed with doing good works to the extent that you neglect the personal relationship aspect of salvation. You must be born again. The other extreme says that we are saved by grace, not works and so a neglect of doing good works sets in. They want to make sure they don’t link the good works to getting saved, so they ignore them all together. What God wants in somewhere in the middle. Our salvation is by grace, not works. However, if we are truly saved, we should be doing good works on a consistent basis. The relationship with Jesus is essential, but with the relationship should come the desire to do good works.

            God prepared these good works before the foundation of the world that we should walk in them. As we go about our daily lives, we should be walking in good works. We should get to the point that we don’t have to look for good works to do. We simply “bump” into them as we go about our daily lives.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My special project, My children. I have planned your present and your future for your good. I have highly anticipated what awaits you. Trust in Me that all will be for your good. I have desired to give you the Kingdom, and that is what I will do. There is no harm that can come to you as you walk in My Word and in My Spirit. I will show you the way to be an overcomer; for that is how I created you … to be one that triumphs over all adversity. You are My special poem. I took special care when I wrote your verses. You will be My special treasure as I await your coming home to Me.”

            25. I am God’s poem. He delighted in creating me in Christ Jesus for good works which He planned for before the world began.

Guards what we have entrusted to Him:

           

2 Timothy 1:12

12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

           

            We can be confident in Him. We don’t have to fear that it is all a hoax and that one day we’ll wake up and find out that we’ve lost what we thought we had. He is trustworthy to keep all that we’ve entrusted to Him (our eternal future). No one can take it away from Him. We should be convinced of this because we know Him. We trust the bank to take care of our money (at least most people do). These are people we don’t even know. How much more should we trust Him whom we know and have believed. He guards what we’ve entrusted to Him … not just with a single guard, but as with an entire garrison surrounding it.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is nothing to fear, My children from those around you. There is nothing that they can do that will harm you. I have protected you since the day you invited Me into your heart. I have not left, and I have not left you defenseless. You are protected forever in Me. You are Mine, and I will protect those that are Mine. You shall not fear those around you. They cannot harm you.”

            24. I know Him and I am certain that He will guard all that I’ve entrusted to Him.