Stuck in the middle of a crisis situation, three men were about to die. Panic threatened to suffocate calm logic, thus insuring a quick death. But, the dippy-est guy among them quietly suggested a possible plan of action. The leader almost came out of his gourd as he hollered, 'Good thinking, man! Good thinking!"

The plan was immediately activated and carried out. The men lived. To this day, they owe their continued existence to, "Good thinking!"

Is it possible that 'Good thinking' might also save your life, your marriage, your business or at least help you keep your sanity? I think so. Therefore, I'm going to drop a pebble of influence into the reservoir of your soul, thus creating an ongoing ripple effect of good thinking in your mind. The words that I share will merely be the fuse that ignites the spirit and causes a positive explosion of good in your life.

Good thinking is a God kind of thing. You can't separate good from God or God from good. "Good" is one of the chief characteristics of the Eternal God.

And a bad reaction to that statement is not going to lead you into good thinking. A negative attitude about God is never going to elevate you into the positive sphere of good that is available to you.

If you want to tap into some positive power for your life, you must believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I dare you to lay aside all your religious prejudices against God or pre-conceived ideas about God. I dare you to lay aside the fears you have about what I might say about God. I dare you to step with courage toward a GOOD LIFE - EVEN IF IT HAS TO INCLUDE GOD!

God + evil = Godevil

or in other words,

God-awful!

Evil people don't get all their thoughts from themselves. There is a source of evil that feeds their minds night and day. The originator of the 'frame-up' has been trying to frame God for evil ever since time began. He has tried to take God's place in the world and that has produced a God-awful mess. But, that doesn't mean we have an awful God!

If you are going to get anywhere in your search for the ‘Good Life’, you are going to have to believe in “The innocence of God.”

From the beginning, the name and the image of God has been maligned and tarnished by lies and misunderstandings. After thousands of years of confusion and conflict about God the Almighty, He put Himself into human flesh and said, "Here, this is what I'm really like." And guess what, lying witnesses testified against that form of God also and The Innocent God was sentenced to death. Why? So, that the whole world could see what's been going on against the invisible God for all time.

God has communicated truth to the world and yet some of us still can't see it. Some still believe that God does not exist, that He is not good or that He cannot possibly love bad people, etc., etc. The time has come to put away our childish fears about God. It's time to become man enough or mature enough to accept the truth about God and believe it. God is good. And that's final! Because God never changes. He is the same - yesterday, today and forever.

God is the same, whether He is Father, Son or Holy Spirit. It is recorded that the fruit of The Holy Spirit is "Goodness". We know that a good tree bears good fruit. The reason the Holy Spirit is able to produce goodness in those who yield to His influence is because The Source of the Fruit is good!

People who claim to have the Holy Spirit and yet do not produce the fruit of goodness - may be imposters or they may be deceived into thinking they have more of the Holy Spirit in them than they really do. But, the fact remains that “Goodness” is a part of God's Holy Spirit. You must choose whether you believe that or not.

Next, it is written of Jesus: "He went everywhere DOING GOOD, healing all that were sick and oppressed of the devil." Jesus also said, "When you have seen me, you have seen the Father." All the goodness that Jesus manifested in the world was received from the invisible God, the Creator of all things.

Now, let's go back to the first chapter of the Bible. It is recorded God created Light and He saw that the Light was good.

God went on to create what He wanted in stages and at the end of each stage He looked at what He had made and saw that it was "Good!" Finally, on the sixth day, after creating man, He looked at the whole picture and saw that "It was very good."

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One. They have one nature which remains the same forever and ever, and within that nature is the bona fide quality of eternal goodness.

The character of a craftsman is seen in his craftsmanship. A good carpenter will produce good work– a slothful builder will produce inferior products. The nature of God is seen in His handiwork.

Scientists of all ages have been amazed at the intricacies of creation. They have marveled at the variety and beauty of His handiwork. They have devoted entire lifetimes to discovering more and more of what makes His universe tick.

They have gone into the starry heavens and have never found an end to His majesty. They have delved into the make-up of the atom and keep discovering that there are more and more invisible elements within its structure. They have not yet fully unraveled the mysteries wrapped up in one tiny atom - the beginning of all matter.

Yet, the Word of God declares "The worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things that are seen are made of things which do not appear." Those words were written two thousand years ago, before scientists had ever messed with molecules much less atoms and electrons, and protons and neutrons and things much smaller than the smallest thing they can see or comprehend.

Man has never found the beginning or the end of God's creation and yet they dare to doubt Him and dare to accuse Him of crimes He has never committed.

A man may build the most beautiful of wood fences and his nature can be seen in his work. Yet, one can of spray paint in the hands of evil vandals can make his creation look ugly. We can see that his creation has been uglicized - (my own word) - but does that mean the original creator is ugly? The graffiti covered fence may be an eyesore in the city. We cannot deny that. But does that mean that no one else should hire the fence builder to build fences? Are you going to blame him for what unruly teenagers have done? Are you going to punish him because they have been evil? The devil's graffiti has been scribbled on the minds of many, the minds which God originally created to do good. Satan's nature has flooded God's green earth with all kinds of filthiness and perversions.

So why do we keep accusing God of all the evil in the world? Good thinking has to start by having faith in a good God.

Just because a man's dog bites an innocent child, does that mean the owner is mean and vicious and evil? Not hardly.

Just because a drug addict steals and deals and hurts lots of people, does that mean his mother and dad are terrible criminals and worthy of the death penalty? I don't think so!

If a man steals your car, gets drunk and runs over a child and flees the scene of the accident, does that mean you are an uncontrolled, reckless killer of children? So, why should you go to prison just because someone jotted down the number of your license plate? Is that proof that you did the crime? That's circumstantial evidence. It's not allowed in a court of law. Innocent people get punished when judgments are made from purely circumstantial evidence. God has been judged and punished for years on the basis of the flimsiest excuses of evidence. If you are going to believe that God is bad, then you had better be able to prove it beyond any reasonable doubt. Are you prepared to submit such proof?

If someone uses your gun to kill six people, does that mean you are a murderer? Just because some of God's people have been conned into being servants of the devil, does that make the God of their Gospel evil? Don't blame God for everything that is done in the name of God.

If someone hands you a glass of punch at a party and then puts that glass in a room with a murder victim - would you want to be convicted of that murder? If they tricked you into putting your fingerprints on the murder weapon as well, would that prove you did the crime? You see, everything is not as it appears in the spiritual or religious realm either. In fact, because of the invisible nature of the spiritual realm, it's much easier to deceive people into believing absolute lies.

If an artist paints a picture and forges Picasso's name on it, does that make it an authentic Picasso painting? Bible quoting people may try to speak for God, but when their words don't ring true, does that make God a liar? Don't hate Buicks forever just because a Buick salesman once lied to you. And don't hate God because one Christian severely wounded you or one of your family members.

The devil has been a liar, a thief, a deceiver, a con artist, a blackmailer, a forger and a murderer from the beginning. He has framed many people for what he has done. He has duped millions into being his accomplices and then double-crossed every one of them.

As the prosecuting attorney of hell, he has been testifying against God for centuries. You have been chosen to head up a 12-man jury. It's your responsibility to hear all the evidence and then to influence others around you to convict or acquit. Are you going to believe the district attorney of hell? Are you going to decide 'for' or 'against' a good God?

It's your call, your choice, your decision, your life, your future and your fate. What will it be? Are you going to hastily accept the testimony of unreliable witnesses and circumstantial evidence? Are you going to believe that God does not exist or that He is a bad God? Are you going to base the actions of your whole life on that one faulty premise?

If that's your choice, I urge you to reconsider. Weigh the evidence. Take your time. Many juries deliberate for hours and even days before they come to their final conclusion concerning simple earthly trials against people. If God, Jesus and the Bible are going to be on trial - and if that calls for eternal consequences - maybe we shouldn't be too hasty in our judgments against them. And if your decision on the jury can affect your eternal destiny - maybe you'd better rethink this issue really well before you make your final decision.

Many people have hated God, rejected Jesus and despised the Holy Spirit of God. The doubt and unbelief in them has not led them into the good life. The bitterness against God has not produced good things in their lives either.

The beginning of a good life, begins with the One who said, "I am the beginning and the ending." He started the good and He is in the process of bringing the bad back to Himself to be cleansed and changed. And He will still be around after all evil has been destroyed. Do you want to be around for the fireworks of His final celebration? Then, maybe you'd better start heading toward the party now - while you have a chance.

Jesus is good. He said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He is THE GOOD LIFE! Accept Him and His goodness into your life and you will be taking the first steps toward a good day, a good year, a good life, a good future and a good destiny!

A prayer to pray today:

Father, I believe you are a good God. I believe Jesus Christ is the pure manifestation of your nature and presence in the earth. I believe that He was innocent of all charges and that He suffered the punishment for my sins so that I could freely partake of Your goodness and begin the process of being changed to become more like Him and You. I believe that You have sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, to guide us in that process of repentance and change and to create Your goodness in us. Therefore, I ask for the salvation that comes through Jesus and the power to be good that comes through the Holy Spirit. I ask for more of Your nature to be formed within me, little by little, on a continuing basis. I believe You have heard this prayer and that You will really and truly accept me, love me and help me to be what I need to be. Amen!