Diane Kannady - God is Good...and Good Means Good

God is Goodand Good Means Good

Copyright 2012 by Diane Kannady

Cover design by Gino Morrow

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked (The Message) are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked (YLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, Youngs Literal Translation.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, Copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (J.B. Phillips) are reprinted with the permission of Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., from THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISHREVISED EDITION by J. B. Phillips. Copyright 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips. All rights reserved.

Published by TruConnections Press

ISBN 13: 978-0-9846967-0-3

ISBN: 9780984696734

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the Riches in Christ family. Without your love, friendship, prayers, and support, this book would not have been possible. Thank you.

May we continue to run our race so that we finish our course in a way that brings maximum glory to God and maximum good to as many people as possible.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB).

I cannot think of a better way to describe Diane Kannady to you than with the above scripture. I agreed to write the foreword for this book because Diane is one of the most dedicated and anointed teachers of the Word of God that I have known in over 30 years of ministry. Her diligence to studying and rightly dividing Gods Word has consistently been evident. When I learned that Diane was writing this book, I knew it would be a great benefit to the body of Christ. God is Goodand Good Means Good will open your eyes to spiritual truths that will impact your life and ministry.

I first met Diane 20 years ago when she came to visit a Sunday service at our church, Trinity. My wife and I always have an eye out for people who have a special call on their lives. From our very first conversation with Diane, we could see that she was one of those people.

Over the last 20 years, Diane has preached many times at our church and at many of the churches in the St. Louis area. She has been a conference speaker for us and many others. We have always been amazed at how she takes Gods Word, breaks it down, and effectively presents it as a teacher and a gifted communicator. She has been teaching at her ministry, Riches in Christ, every Friday evening at Trinity since March 6, 1992.

The place Dianes giftedness perhaps shines the brightest is as one of our primary lecturers at City Bible Institute (CBI). It is important to me that our students get the best. Our students love her teaching style and substance. This book is an elaboration of material she taught in the CBI course, The Character of God.

So, get ready to be blessed. God is Goodand Good Means Good is worth reading, studying, and sharing with others.

Rev. Dr. Joel A. Oliver

Senior Pastor of Trinity Assembly of God Church

President of City Bible Institute

I NTRODUCTION

Troubles, trials, tests, tribulation, and suffering do not come from God. How can I make such a bold statement? Because that is what Jesus said when He was on this earth: The thief (the devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they (my people) may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10, NIV). According to Jesus, good comes from God and bad comes from the devil.

If theres something in your life that is bad, it did not come from God. I realize that statement brings up many Yes, but what about? questions. Yes, but what about Job? Yes, but what about Gods sovereignty? Yes, but what about the Old Testament? All of these can be answered from the Bible. We will deal with these and other questions in the following pages.

WHY DO WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS SUBJECT?

• When were not sure if our troubles come from God or the devil, we respond to lifes challenges with uncertainty: God, if this trial is from you, I submit to it and to whatever you are trying to teach me. Devil, if this is from you, I resist you in Jesus name. This is a position of weakness, not strength.
• When people believe that God is somehow responsible for their difficulties, many end up angry at God.
• As Christians, we are called to live and walk by faith. Part of living by faith is trusting God. You cannot fully trust someone you believe has harmed you or will harm you in any way. Thats where many of us arestruggling to trust a Being were not certain we can fully rely on. Psalm 9:10 says, And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. The word name has the idea of character. Those who know Gods character, those who know what He is truly like, will put their trust in Him.

Accurate knowledge of Gods character will produce in your heart an unshakeable confidence in God. Through this book, by Gods grace, you will learn that the Bible clearly teaches that God is goodand good means good.

GOD IS GOODAND GOOD MEANS GOOD

M ost Christians would say they believe God is good. When the preacher says God is a good God, we all nod our heads in agreement and shout Amen! But in the next breath, we hear people turn around and say that God let their friend have a car wreck to teach him a lesson or He gave their loved one a disease to keep that person humble. Ask yourself, Is a car wreck good? Is a disease good?

When the word good is used in everyday conversation, it means an experience that is beneficial, helpful, or pleasant. But when good is used in connection with God, our thinking often changes. Something bad happens and we say its good because we believe God allowed it, permitted it, or is behind it in some way. Even though we may not think our situation is good, we reason that because the circumstance came through the hand of God, it must be good because He knows best.

But heres the question we need to answer: What does the Bible mean when it says God is good? Several years ago I decided to find out. Good appears in 655 verses in the Bible. I read each verse and made an amazing discovery. Every time the word good is used in scripture, it means good. It means what you and I understand the word to mean when we use it in our daily conversations.