Attributes of God

November 19 – Attributes of God – Grace

Read Nehemiah 9:17

The last few years I feel I’ve received a lot of grace from the people around me.

Certainly, my wife and family as they had to make many concessions and do many things I couldn’t do due to my health. Also, from my employer and co-workers. They had to pick up the pieces and finish work that I couldn’t complete. We also have unbelievably good friends who did so much for us and I feel that God showed His love through them.

I’m very thankful for all of the above but, as significant as it was, nothing can compare with the grace I’ve received from God.

So, what is grace?

We use the word or a form of it in many different ways:

“That person was very gracious.”

“I’m sure glad they had a grace period after the due date on that bill.”

“That dancer is so graceful.”

Sometimes the words grace and mercy are used as though they are synonymous.

I believe mercy is not getting what I deserve such as, “I’m a sinner and deserve the death penalty but because of God’s mercy I’ve been forgiven and won’t receive that penalty.”

Grace, on the other hand, is receiving what I don’t deserve, in the form of a gift. Receiving Christ’s righteousness and becoming a member of the Heavenly Father’s family because of what He has done for me by dying on the cross.

Here is an acrostic that illustrates this:

God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

GRACE is a GIFT!

Grace comes in many different forms and I want to talk about just a few types.

God’s grace is:

Forgiving – Through grace, we can be forgiven (Ephesians 2:8 – 9).

Accepting – God wants us all to be part of His eternal family and He has made a way through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9).

Sustaining – He gets us through the tough times if we will turn to Him and trust in Him completely. (Isaiah 46:4).

Freeing – God wants us to be free.

Free from fear.

“So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – (Isaiah 41:10)

Free from worry (Ephesians 4:6 – 7)

Free from anything that keeps us from becoming who He made us to be.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John10:10b)

God’s grace is so important, without it we would be utterly hopeless.

It’s also very broad and I’ve touched on just a few points, but I ask you to consider how God’s grace has impacted YOUR life and thank Him.

Who around you needs to hear about the hope and love that is embodied in God’s grace?

Please pray that God will:

  • show you who needs to hear about Him
  • create opportunities with that person
  • give you the words that will point them to Jesus Christ.

God’s grace is the best gift ever. May we never take it for granted!

Mike Molter

November 18 – Attributes of God – Jealousy

Read Exodus 34:10-14

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

(v.14)

His is a perfect jealousy. Untainted by sin, the one true and holy God calls Himself Jealous and mankind struggles to catch on.

We see the word ‘jealous’ and picture angry spouses and possessive friends whose doubts have turned them into green monsters. We picture resentment that demands more of what cannot be had. That’s what comes to mind when we think of someone jealous, not the God who named Himself as such.

But the God called Jealous is also called Love. He’s called Holy and Faithful and Merciful, and His jealousy for His people is of an entirely different sort.

The kind of jealous we know comes from a fear that maybe we aren’t enough, an uncertainty that we’ll ever have enough to fully satisfy us. But the jealousy of God stems from the secure truth that only He is enough, only He can ever give enough, only He will ever provide everything we need for real life.

So when God made a covenant with the Israelites, He made sure they understood they would only come to Him for worship. Any other god would leave them wanting. He called Himself Jealous because He wanted the whole of their affection and would take nothing less than whole-hearted followers.

That same God has made a covenant with us, His followers, through His Son’s blood. He is still called Jealous. He wants nothing less than everything we are because He knows that devotion to anything or anyone but Him is not real life.

The God called Jealous wants us to only know real life and He knows the only way to real life is being all-in with Him. No side glances at other could-be loves. No flirting with pretend life-givers, the things making like they’re going to fill us up but fall desperately short. Only Him. Only all-in with the one true God called Jealous.

Is there anything in your life that has caused your gaze to wander from truly worshiping the one true God called Jealous?

Bria Wasson

November 17 – Attributes of God – Wrath

Read Psalm 7:11 and Romans 9:14-24

Wrath.

Oxford defines it as “extreme anger”. Inside and outside the church, it can be a stumbling block to rightly understanding God’s perfect character.  When talking to people about God’s wrath, judgment, punishment, even Hell, it is imperative that we know how to discuss these difficult topics in a way that lovingly points people to Jesus.

Sharing the Gospel starts with God’s creation.  Implicit in His creation is an important distinction that often gets overlooked; God’s ownership.  God makes the rules, He judges, and He always judges rightly! Misunderstanding this concept sounds like this; “How could a loving God __?”  or “Why would a loving God do this/allow this to happen to me?”  Paul obviously heard these objections and others like it; just read Romans 9!  Here are some excerpts: “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?”, and “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy…”  These are HARD concepts that we need to pray on, and ask for help with our understanding!

I can remember vividly a recent circumstance where one of my children had done something extremely rude and disrespectful to my wife and I, and I reacted with emotional violence.  Towering over my child (physical intimidation), yelling at my child (verbal intimidation); I lashed out in ANGER.   The problem is, my anger was rooted in sin, it was not righteous, and it was not for my child’s good.  There was nothing LOVING about the way I acted.

We shouldn’t think of God’s wrath like this.  God has many attributes.  Here, we are discussing wrath.  He is also loving, merciful, just, holy, etc.  God is perfectly ALL of these things, ALL of the time.  So, while exercising His judgement on His creation, He is exercising Love and Mercy at the same time.  Our inability to understand this is an issue with us, not an indictment of Him.

Think about it like this… God hates evil, and speaks strongly against it throughout scripture.  Would you want to serve a God who turns a blind eye to sin; who tolerates evil?  Without God’s wrath, would you have any idea just how serious your sin really is?  We need to understand that it’s God’s wrath that cracks open the door for His Mercy and Grace; His judgment creates a NEED for a Savior.

The truth is, we are uncomfortable with God judging or punishing.  Our discomfort is an important human response, however.   It is this spiritual and emotional discord that drives us to repentance.   When confronted with God’s unchanging Holiness, we fall short, and we wrongly defend, posture or justify.  Know this…when God displays wrath he is showing His POWER, asserting His OWNERSHIP.  Brothers and sisters; it is done for OUR GOOD, and HIS GLORY.  The cross displays all of this PERFECTLY, Praise God!

Want to see God’s perfect wrath?  Look at the cross.  Want to see God’s perfect love, mercy and grace?  Look at the cross.

Craig French

November 16 – Attributes of God – Justice

Read Deuteronomy 32:4

“He started it.”

“She told me to do it.”

“No one said not to . . .”

I hear these phrases frequently from my young students at school. They really do want to please the teacher at their age, but even more so, they don’t want to get in trouble. For the most part, they are rule followers and expect everyone to be held accountable. Believe me; they are quick to tell me if someone is NOT following the rules. And surprisingly, they like to see their classmates get their deserved consequences. In some way, it is reassuring to them that all is in order; that bad behavior is not tolerated and good behavior is rewarded. In a very basic way, they are seeking justice. They want to know that right is right and wrong is wrong.

We serve a God who is just. It is His very nature. God always does what is right. He cannot help but do what is right. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses is addressing the Israelite people and he proclaims that “God is the Rock; His work is perfect. Everything He does is just and fair.” It is almost like a warning to the people:  Look out, Moses warns, nothing gets past this guy. He doesn’t bend the rules to let you off the hook.

Haven’t we grown to expect just that? We have become accustomed to, and even expect, people to cut us a break instead of sticking to the rules. When driving, we know we can get away with driving a little bit over the posted speed limit, so we do. We expect deadlines to be extended when we can’t quite meet them. We want the person who tickets cars for parking too long to extend a little grace and allow us to park a few minutes longer than posted.

Prior to Moses’ proclamation to the people, He delivered the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. These rules were meant to establish right from wrong. God was helping His people by setting these rules in place and creating an equal playing field for all. However, when things didn’t go as the Israelites expected, they started bending those rules. They bent them so far, they broke. And God, being just, couldn’t look the other way. He won’t look the other way for us either.

It should be reassuring to us that we don’t have to hit a moving or changing target. He will be consistent and fair to all.

Tammy Finney

November 15 – Attributes of God – Patience

Read 1 Timothy 1:16

In the summer of 2019, I was able to see in person the statue of David in Florence, Italy.

This amazing statue of David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is 17.0 ft tall and weighs about 6 tons.

I didn’t really know that much about David but I wondered why somebody would spend three years making a statue of a guy who lived in 970 BC, which was about 2500 years ago to Michelangelo and 3000 years ago to me.

So I have been reading about David in the year 2020, and I have learned that he was a patient warrior.

In the movie HOOSIERS, the Hickory Huskers play for the state championship against a very worthy opponent. The school Chaplain reads the story of David and Goliath to the team in the Huskers’ locker room right before the game starts. The Huskers plan was to be patient against a team that likes to fast break. Be patient, work for a good shot, make the opponent work on defense and have a patient attitude. It worked. Just like patience is such a great fruit in life! Jimmy Chitwood takes a shot at the buzzer to make the greatest ending to a sports movie I have ever seen.

When participating in sports, such as basketball or golf, you will see patience in action. Patience is a real key to being successful in sports. Good things take time. A beautiful garden doesn’t happen overnight. A beautiful relationship and friendship does not happen overnight. And patience is a real key to success, especially if you honor Jesus Christ while you are patient.  It is a great thing to strive for. It is not easy. Patience is a fruit of the spirit. Patience is at the top of John Wooden’s pyramid of success. Good things take time.

Paul speaks of patience in 1 Timothy 1:16. He talks about how Jesus gave him strength and considered him faithful, even though Paul was a prosecutor and a violent man. Jesus showed him mercy. Paul says that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom he is the worst. Jesus would display his unlimited patience as an example for those who believe in him and receive eternal life.

God was patient with David. The statue in Florence is of a young shepherd who gains fame, first as a musician, and later by killing the enemy champion, Goliath.

God was patient with Paul. God is patient with you and I.  Are you and I patient with others?

Tom Weckesser

November 14 – Attributes of God – Kindness

Read 2 Samuel 22:51

Kindness is an attribute of God. It is a fruit of the Spirit of God that Christians can choose to possess. David appreciated the kindness of God so much that he sang an entire chapter in 2 Samuel to God. Chapter 22 is a song that David sang to the Lord when God’s kindness delivered him from his enemies. Written around 930 BC, people have taken some of these verses and turned them into music. Here are some songs I listen to and sing that are based on 2 Samuel 22:

THE LORD LIVETH, by Petra, based on v.1

“The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock

And let the God of my salvation be exalted…”

I WILL CALL UPON THE LORD, by Elevation Worship, based on v. 4

“I will call upon the Lord

Who is worthy to be praised.”

CONSUMING FIRE, by Third Day based on v.9

“And yes our God, he is a consuming fire

…He reaches inside and he melts down this cold heart of stone.”

LOVE CAME DOWN, Kari Jobe. v.10

“I could sing about His forgiveness

I could praise Him till the sun goes down.”

HE RESCUED ME, by Lids S. Leech (1909 hymn), based on v.18

“He rescued me, His own to be,

A brand from the burning, He set me free.”

FLAWLESS, by Mercy Me, based on v.31

“No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises

No matter the scars, Still the truth is

The cross has made you flawless.”

David writes and actually sings about kindness in the final verse 51. He speaks here in the third person about unfailing kindness that God has given to he and his descendants forever.

Solomon wrote about kindness:

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”  – Proverbs 12:25 NIV

“Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” – Proverbs 14:31 NIV

Paul wrote about the nature of kindness and then the kindness of God:

“Love is patient, love is kind. – 1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV

“…in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:7 NIV

Kindness is selfless, compassionate, and forgiving. For a perfect example of biblical kindness, look no further than Jesus. We all have opportunities to share God’s kindness.

Let’s seize that opportunity!

Tom Weckesser

November 13 – Attributes of God – Mercy

Read 2 Samuel 24:14

My parent’s driveway comes at a 90 degree to the road that they live on and on a slight downhill. When my brother, Wade, and I were coming home from basketball practice one evening, Wade braked to turn into the driveway but due to the snow that had fallen, our little Ford Focus entered into a drift. Wade gently turned the wheel and we slid directly into our parking spot. There was a solid 10 second pause where we stared at each other with mouths to the floor before I said “That was the coolest thing I have ever seen.”

It was perfection.

Naturally, we had to try the maneuver again.

However, I was much less successful. One of my biggest failures resulted in the entire car, I’m talking all four wheels, in mom and dad’s front yard. As you can guess, Dad wasn’t too thrilled of our activities and said that we would be in serious trouble if we kept it up.

I mean, he would only know if we weren’t successful, right?

Another night, the opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to be a hero.

As I hit the brake and turned, we went straight for the front yard. Life flashed before my eyes and I resorted to standing on the brake rather than trying to drift the car. Only the front left tire hit grass. I backed up and Wade and I checked the damage and even tried to dump snow on the tire marks to hide the evidence.

It’s as if nothing ever happened.

Dad, however, saw through our cover up and called us out on our disobedience at dinner that evening. Instead of dropping the punishment bomb, which he rightfully could have, he let us off with a plea to our common sense.

This time, we gave up our escapade for good.

What Dad showed Wade and I was mercy which could be defined as “compassion or forgiveness that is extended to someone where another has the power to punish them.” The same is true with forgiveness. God shows us grace, a gift that we don’t deserve, by withholding punishment that is rightfully ours.

Even though we have blatantly sinned against a holy God, He still sent His only Son to be nailed to a tree for us! It is because of Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection that we have the opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven with Him!

That, my friends, is mercy. It is one of the attributes of God that I am most thankful for. It causes me to think about the mercy, or lack thereof, that I show to others. Do I follow after Christ’s example or do I mimic the servant in Matthew 18?

We must look no further than Jesus:

“The greatest example of mercy is shown by Jesus Christ, the Son of God paying our debt on the cross.  Jesus paid the debt for our sin.  The punishment He received was for all of my sin (past, present and future).  We do not need to look any further than the cross for the perfect example of mercy.”

Look to the cross, my friends! Exemplify Jesus!

Jake Lawson

November 12 – Attributes of God – Faithfulness

Read Deuteronomy 7:9

“Great is thy faithfulness, Lord onto me!”

This is one of my all-time favorite hymns. Why? Because it reminds me of all the promises that God has been faithful to fulfill in my life and yours.

“Great is thy faithfulness Oh God my father”.

Promise #1 –  He promises to be our Father and we are His children.  God is the father to the homeless and the hopeless. Those who society praises and those they shun.  But He isn’t just any father but a faithful father who will love us when we fail, and even when we aren’t so “lovable” To a young child who has to grow up without an earthly father, this is a priceless blessing on cold and lonely nights.

“There is no shadow of turning with thee!  Thou changes not, thy compassions they fail not; as thou has been, though forever will be!”

Promise #2 –  He doesn’t change.  And He will not change.  He doesn’t have rules for us one day and different ones on the next.   The promises He made to saints in the Bible, He makes also to us today. As He was with David when he faced Goliath, or Daniel in the lion’s den or Noah in the flood.  God is with us as we are flooded with anxiety, facing gigantic obstacles in our lives, and angry people are ready to devour us.

“Summer and Winter, and Spring time and harvest, sun moon and stars in their courses above.  Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”

Promise #3 – Just as the sunshine comes after the rain and spring buds come after the snow, God will never fail.  The darkness in our lives will be followed by light if we will just hang in there with God.  No matter how bad today looks, there is always tomorrow. Only God knows what tomorrow might bring.  But whatever it is, we know God will be there to help us get through it. He has promised that “He will never leave us or forsake us!’ We can all count on that as being true.

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessing all mine with 10,000 besides.”

We all mess up. We fall way short of what we need to be. But God is always willing to forgive us and let us start each day fresh with a clean slate.

How can we ask for more? We have God’s presence with us in the good times and the bad, in the scary times and happy times. Like a good father holding the back of the bike seat as his child learns how to balance a 2-wheeler without training wheels, God is faithfully watching over us and, along with the saints in heaven, cheering us on to victory in this sometimes-crazy race called life!

Pat Arnold

November 11 – Attributes of God – Goodness

Read 2 Chronicles 7:3 & Matthew 19:16-30

Solomon built a magnificent temple and God filled it with His glory. The Israelites, who witnessed it, were amazed and said, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

And then they forgot. And then remembered. And forgot. And remembered…

Do you soar on the clouds some days and marvel at God’s goodness, then stagger with clumsy steps on other days, wondering where He is and what He’s doing?

Same.

The Israelites are such a great example to us of our fickle hearts and the way we misunderstand God’s goodness. They wanted a secure kingdom. Even when Jesus came, they had earthly eyes and hopes of His rule and peace for their nation.

We have a saying, “all good things must come to an end”. This is often true in life, but with Jesus, all good things never end. With eternal eyes and hope, we realize we can never get to the end of His goodness.

I love Jesus’ interaction with the rich, young man in Matt. 19. He wanted to know how to be good. Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect…”

Do you want to be perfect? I do. Do you think you’re good? I hope you are, but are you good enough? Good enough to deserve eternal life? The ruler thought he was until Jesus put his life under a microscope. Turns out, he wasn’t as good as he thought.

And this is where our hope shines brightly.

Jesus is the only good one and He offers His goodness as our cover. He took our filth upon Himself so that we could be clothed by His goodness. (2 Cor. 5:21)

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Our good God lavishes His love upon us when we aren’t very lovable. (1 John 3:1)

He saves us by His grace because He knows we can never be perfect enough to earn it. (Eph. 2:8-9)

He seals us with the gift of His Spirit when we put our faith in Him. From that moment, we have everything we need to live a godly life and we’re never alone. (Eph. 1:13-14)

He reserves a place in heaven for us, and, not only do we have a home there, we will be rewarded for everything lost here on earth multiplied 100 times.

Our God is good. There is no evil in Him. Not one speck.

No matter what evil happens, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8)

You may be tempted to think otherwise when suffering lands in your lap. I’ve been tempted, too.

I’m also able to testify that no one comforts me like Jesus. No one leads me better. No one listens to and answers my prayers as He is able and faithful to do. He is my rock. My anchor. My hope. My friend and Savior. He is good.

If you are questioning His goodness, tell Him. He wants your honesty. If you have become hardened because of your suffering, invite Him into it. Ask Him to show you His goodness. He wants you to see it and believe.

Nothing is impossible with Him.

Shelly Eberly

November 10 – Attributes of God – Holiness

Read Isaiah 6:3

When you think of God’s holiness, do you see what Isaiah does?

In ancient Israel, only the high priest was able to walk into the “Holy of Holies”. Why do you think that is? Well, think of Moses, when he asked God to show him His Glory (Exodus 33:18) …it’s too much that we can’t bear it. After the fall, the Lord set up boundaries in order to see His holiness.

Fast forward to Moses in the desert and the Lord giving him the law. Not just laws to abide by but laws on how to treat each other, what to eat, what not to eat. All of this in order to set His people apart. All of it to show the world that God’s people are different than the rest. That they are God’s people, set apart.

Holy.

To be holy is to be set apart. In every aspect of God’s character, there stands holiness. Every story, every relationship we read about in scripture, consistently and constantly points to God’s holiness. It’s hard to sum up this attribute, but I will try.

From the very beginning, God had a plan. To send His ONE Son to offer His life so that we may truly live where we were intended to be. Now, looking at Jesus’ life before the act of the cross, He was different than all of the rest. He didn’t act or speak like anyone else; He was resembling holiness.  And when He chose the cross, He approached the Holy of Holies and sacrificed Himself for us to be justified. This act alone nothing else on earth can offer.

When you look at the characteristics of God such as loving, caring, protecting, and providing, all of the characteristics point back to His holiness because He is like no other. No one and nothing else compares.

You see, since nothing compares, since there is NO equal to our God, He is Holy.

He is apart from all the rest. His love, care, peace, provision, protection…it’s all different because it is all holy.

Reading Isaiah’s vision in chapter 6, we get a glimpse of Christ on the throne and the singing of His praises and pronouncing His holiness. Isaiah sees himself and his unworthiness.

And what happens? An angel comes before Isaiah and shows him that, because of Christ, he is saved, he is called holy.

Being set apart is not an easy task in our world, but we are called to be set apart. We are called to be like Christ, we are called to be holy.

Be holy for He is holy (Leviticus 11:44).

What does that mean? When I was just beginning my walk as a follower of Christ, I started with the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Do you know why Paul calls this list “Fruit of the Spirit”?

Short answer: When we are living life hand in hand with Jesus, we begin to look like Him. Our life begins to look like no one else on this earth, but begins to look like our Savior and people see Him instead of us.

If you could look at this list, what would you find within yourself?

He is holy and we are called to be.

Kelly Lawson