"God's Great Goodness"

"Hear me, O LORD; for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies." (Psalms 69:16) I am sorry for speaking about the past; I seriously try not to dwell in the past, but every once in awhile it's good to remember where you came from. We should always remember where we have been, that way we don't end you there again. Besides that, I believe God allows us to veer off the path now and again so we don't get too far ahead of ourselves; meaning, so we don't think that we are something that we are not. We are those that have been saved from the grip of something that we had no control over. If God had not softened my heart when He did, and had there actually been a church on that compound, I am not sure I would have went. Before we were caught, we visited a local church because we thought we needed a little God in our lives; but as soon as we stepped in the door, they wanted to make us Members, and gave us a form to fill out pledging how much money we would give monthly. Needless to say, we didn't go back, and my disdain for organized religion was reinforced. I was a free spirit, and felt I had my own way of worshiping God; little did I realize at the time, but the god I was worshiping was not the right one. I was worshiping a god that I had created, otherwise known as an idol. As much as I would like to think that I had something to do with my conversion or change of heart, left to my own choices, I would still be lost and going straight to hell. Eventually, I ended up going back to that other compound, the one with the little white church; and I was there almost every single day. I learned how to study the Bible, and how important it is that we don't just skip around from church to church, but that we get rooted and grounded into a church that teaches God's Word. By the time I was released, my mind had been made up on the church we would be attending, which was Calvary Chapel of Downey. My wife had already been there several times, and she filled me in on all the important things; things like teaching from the Bible in a structured chapter by chapter way, and having a Men's Fellowship Group. Besides that, everything else they offered was just icing on the cake; those were the two things that mattered most to me. God has so much patience with us, and He knows just what it takes to change our heart. That's the thing that blows my mind! We serve a personal God! Sure, my God is not my own, but He knows me just like He knew Adam, or David, or anyone else; He knows me more than I even know myself; and He loves me, still! That continually crushes my heart... "Where is another God like You, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under Your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us Your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago." (Micah 7:18-20) NLT