Attributes of God #7 - Wise and Good

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

We continue on our journey as we look at the attributes of God. The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We may not be able to emulate Jesus by being omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent, but we can allow God to pour His moral attributes into our lives in order to spill out throughout the day. Last week, the focus was on how God is just, compassionate, and patient. Let’s look at a few more of God’s moral attributes.

God is Wise – Perfect in choices

“How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.”     Psalm 104:24

I can trust the Lord with the decisions of my life, knowing that He shares His wisdom with me when I ask. The challenge is to quiet our hearts in this fast-paced world enough to ask and listen intently. There have been way too many times that I have packed my schedule so fast that I did not spend the time I needed in order to get wisdom from God.

God is Good – Pure in motive

Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?    Romans 2:4

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.    Romans 8:28

When we are little we learn our first prayer, “God is great, God is good…” I don’t think I have to finish it for you. Since He is good, I know His working in my life is always for my good. That is what the Scripture reminds me of when I sit down, read, and begin my day.

Trust God today to be these attributes in your life. Live them out and allow the Lord to show someone else His mighty name. You never know who will need it most.

It was good to bring 16 members into the church this past Sunday. Every time I bring in new members I can’t help but see Dan Sertell beaming from ear to ear. He gets so moved during this part of the service. We are a part of the body of Christ. It is a symbol of being united with other Christians “Making Christlike Disciples in the Nations.” I think sometimes we don’t realize how great it is to be a part of a church that believes in the holiness of God. Great things are happening in and around our church. God is to be praised.

The next devotional you receive from me will be the day after the election. The results will be in and we will know what individuals will lead our Country. Continue to pray for God to be glorified and don’t forget to vote. It is our God given privilege to vote in people who will Restore America.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Attributes of God #6 - Fair, Compassionate and Patient

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

The past few weeks we have been looking at God’s character. When a person comes to know Jesus Christ as their Savior they begin to become more Christlike. But that doesn’t mean that all of God’s character qualities begin to fill the believer. For example, we cannot become infinite, self-sufficient, self-existent, omnipotent or omnipresent, to name a few. However, you can take on His moral attributes. As a believer, we have been promised that we will be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Last week we touched on God being holy and righteous. Let’s look at a few more of God’s moral attributes.

God is Just – Fair

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulnesss go before you.” Psalm 89:14

In 2 Thessalonians 1:6 it also mentions that God is just. Since He is just, I know that all His rules and judgments toward everyone, including me, are fair. Although, we seem to define fair in the respect that it should be painless and easy. Rules by themselves can border legalism. But God offers a relationship with rules to live by that ends in freedom when rightly adhered to.

God is Merciful – Compassionate

“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” Psalm 116:5

I am so glad that God does not expect us to be infallible. I make mistakes. Since God is merciful, I know that He has compassion for me even when I fail. That is comforting to know.

God is Long-suffering – Patient

“The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion…” Numbers 14:18

God’s patience is very long when it comes to our spiritual progress. But I must not take for granted His patience by deliberately testing it with willful disobedience. I always refer back to my kids when they were toddlers. They would fall many times and I would try to be there to pick them up. I did not lecture them in how to walk when they were learning. I just would patiently pick them back up and help them to master the skill that would become natural in time. Then my precious little ones learned the word “No.” It was cute at first but then they grew older. The “No” came at the wrong time and they tested my patience. Deliberate disobedience has never scored points even to this day. It’s the same with the Lord.

Let me encourage you to allow the Lord to live these attributes out through you the rest of this week. Take the time to thank the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in the here and now.

This Sunday will conclude my messages on Restoring America. The election is less than two weeks away. Keep praying and asking the Lord to be right in the middle of each voting booth as we vote our Biblical values for the sake of Christ.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Attributes of God #5 - Holy and Righteous

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

The past few weeks we have been looking at God’s character. When a person comes to know Jesus Christ as their Savior they begin to become more Christlike. But that doesn’t mean that all of God’s character qualities begin to fill the believer. For example, we cannot become infinite, self-sufficient, self-existent, omnipotent or omnipresent, to name a few. However, you can take on His moral attributes. As a believer, we have been promised that we will be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Let’s look at a few of God’s moral attributes.

God is Holy – Pure, set apart from sin

¹⁵ But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Since He is holy, He is set apart from sin, and He sets me apart from having to sin. He sets me apart for His purposes. So many times in life people rationalize the fact that they can’t help but sin. But why? We don’t have to. Maybe we want to. We have to come to the point of allowing God to fill us with His Spirit and making our desires fall in line with His desires. If we were to wait for an escalator to come and pick us up and easily conform us to the likeness of Christ, then we will be waiting for a long time. God has provided the means by which we allow the Holy Spirit to make us Holy and conform us into the likeness of Christ. We need to find our identity in Christ and resist the temptation to walk life on our own. The fact that God left His Word for us to read and memorize should show us that we are to hide His Word in our hearts.

God is righteous – Absolute good

Righteous are you, O Lord, and your laws are right.  Psalm 119:137

Since He is righteous, everything He does is right – even on my behalf, and He grants His righteousness to me. What a thought. His righteousness lives in me. That means I am capable of drawing from His righteousness and do the right thing. Maybe I am simple, but it is overwhelming to think that God wants to live this out through me. I don’t feel a pressure from this because what God calls me to be, He empowers me to live that out.

Walk in the goodness of God today and be reminded that He wants to be Holy and righteous through you.

You will not want to miss this Sunday. There will be a baptism and it is going to be a powerful service. Looking forward to seeing what God is going to do…

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Attributes of God #4 - Transcendent and Sovereign

In a world that seems to be trying to move away from God, you will find many people asking questions concerning the character of God. They want to know who He is, what He does, and why He does things the way He does. Questions like: “How can God be just and loving at the same time?” “How can He send people to hell just because they sin a little bit, aren’t people basically good?” Why do good things happen to bad people while bad things happen to good people?” To answer these questions, we must understand God’s attributes.

We have looked at how God is Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipotent (all powerful), Omnipresent (everywhere), eternal, immutable, incomprehensible, self-existent, self-sufficient, and infinite. It is reassuring to know that God is all of these things. Let’s continue to look at the internal attributes of God.

God is Transcendent.

Isaiah 55:9 says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” This verse is saying that God’s perspective is above and beyond mine. He can be trusted with my future simply from the fact that His ways and thoughts are so much more than ours.

God is Sovereign.

In Daniel 4:34-35, King Nebachadnezzar proclaims, “His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the people of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have you done?'” At times in our lives we think that we are in control. But when we look at God’s Sovereignty we quickly realize that God rules over me in all things, and His will cannot be thwarted. We serve a mighty God.

Praise the Lord for His character today and be reassured that He goes before us. Follow His every lead today.

Great News!!! The sign is being installed as I write this devotional. I think that my words were becoming as a wind in the night when I would announce that the sign is going up. It is finally here. Drive by and see it completed. What a great day last Sunday was as we honored our grandparents' generation. The meal following the service was delicious and the fellowship was next to none.

Looking forward to seeing what God is going to do this Sunday.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Attributes of God #3 - Self-Existent, Self-Sufficient and Infinite

Three weeks ago I started a series of email devotionals called, “Faith Builders.” It is important to be ready in and out of season when it comes to our faith.

In a world that seems to be trying to move away from God, you will find many people asking questions concerning the character of God. They want to know who He is, what He does, and why He does things the way He does. Questions like: “How can God be just and loving at the same time?” “How can He send people to hell just because they sin a little bit, aren’t people basically good?” Why do good things happen to bad people while bad things happen to good people?” In order to answer these questions, we must understand God’s attributes.

We have looked at how God is Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipotent (all powerful), Omnipresent (everywhere), eternal, immutable, and incomprehensible. These are reassuring to know that God is all of these things. Let’s continue to look at the internal attributes of God.

God is Self-existent

John 5:26 says, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in Himself.” This points to the fact that since God is self-existent, then He can never be destroyed, die, or cease to exist. He will always be there. No one who serves an idol can make that claim. All other gods will cease to exist one day.

God is Self-sufficient

Romans 6:36 says, “For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.” God does not need anything or anyone to accomplish His will for me. When I look at it that way I can’t help but think of the times that I have tirelessly worked to try to fix things. When I look at how God is Self-sufficient, it reminds me to first go to prayer and consult the one who is able to more than I can even imagine.

God is Infinite

Psalm 139:7-12 says that I cannot go anywhere the Spirit is not. Even the dark places I think I can hide are like light to Him. It says that God’s right hand will guide me and hold me fast. That is comforting and alarming. The times when we go our own way and let things happen are still in the presence of the Almighty. In my finite being, I can totally depend on the infinite to guide me. Why would I not give Him my all?

The more I look at these character qualities of God, the more I realize that I cannot miss the chance to talk to Him each and every day. My daily walk and fulfillment directly coincide with my time in prayer and Bible reading. I want to encourage you today to get caught up in these three qualities of God. Oh what a Savior…

This Sunday is Grandparents day with a meal following the service. If you are a grandparent, then invite your family to enjoy worship and a meal with you this Sunday. If you are a grandchild, then invite your grandparents to do the same. It will be a great day!

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike