This Is Our God
I would love to get your help today. I’m writing a new message series we’re going to do at Cross Point later this fall entitled “This Is Our God.” In this series I want to help people better understand who God is. I think it’s impossible to follow a God you don’t know.
I read the following quote the other day from Dallas Willard in The Kingdom Life . He said…
Ideas and images are the primary focus of Satan’s efforts to defeat God’s purposes for humankind They form the primary arena of the battle of spiritual formation. When we are subject to Satan’s chosen ideas and images, he can take a holiday. When he undertook to draw Eve away from God, he did not hit her with a stick but with an idea. It was with the idea that God could not be trusted and that she must act on her own to secure her own well-being.
In this series I want to talk about the true attributes of God which in so many ways will set people free from the “ideas” that have been planted in their heads.
Here’s where you come in. I’m wondering…
What attribute/characteristic of God do you think is important for someone to understand if they’re going to truly follow God with their life?
God is Truth. Nothing he says is a lie. When I am dealing with ideas or images from the enemy, I often pray against them out loud and replace them with truth from Scripture.
That you can’t do anything to make God love you more. His love isn’t earned…it’s given.
I also love the flip side of this…you can’t do anything to make God love you less!
Both of these replies brought tears to me eyes.
Thank you both for reminding me.
Just my opinion:
God is timeless. He knows the past, present and future at the same time, unlike us. I think understanding that makes it easier to believe that our God is benevolent in spite of all the suffering in this life.
great point Aaron.
I so often catch myself thinking of God in human terms. It’s natural because our relationships are generally with humans and WE are humans. We are not giving him full credit (or trust) when we think of Him in human terms when we are trusting Him. When we are talking to Him, etc…Yes, Jesus was a man but he is equally God.
Eph 2:8-9. Grace! That there is NOTHING in and of ourselves that we can do to “earn” salvation–that it cannot be earned at all. Praise God for this free gift!
Exodus 34:6-7. God’s own “name” for himself. That God may be love, but he is also a God of justice. Not all will be saved. Not all will be forgiven. Stop allowing ourselves, stop allowing any who claim the name of Christ, to dismiss our sin by playing the “God is love” card.
I got a forward just this morning with a prayer for God to look after loved ones because “they deserve it.” Which brings me back to grace, I suppose. “There is none who does good”! We as Christians must learn to detect and wholly reject culture’s current overwhelming message of entitlement. The only thing we “deserve” is death. God’s grace is the only thing that can rescue us from that condemnation. And he does! But we MUST deny both any goodness of our own and any ability to “earn” God’s grace. Then we can rejoice in true freedom. Praise God!
I second grace.
No doubt. Has to be on the list.
And another thing I tend to forget…His plan is perfect. Even in suffering, the best possible scenario is yet to be seen. And He knows that during our darkness. All we can see is the here and now…
God is ruler over everything and thus we need to accept His rule in our lives.
He is a God of Love and of Wrath. So often people want to characterize God as one or the other. He is both.
Probably the only author I know of who has really dealt with what the wrath of God actually means is Dr. Greg Boyd. Check out some of his stuff at http://www.gregboyd.org
God is Holy. There are a lot of differences between God and man; God is all-knowing, all- powerful, everywhere-present and us men are none of the above. However, that is not the biggest difference between God and man is that God is Holy and we are not. That is why the song in heaven is “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”
I second this. The Holiness (or “otherness,” as the term is used here, not “righteousness”) of God is the only attribute of His that is elevated to the superlative degree. He is holy, holy, holy, He is not love, love, love, or wrath, wrath, wrath. God’s holiness is so important to Him, that it was this attribute that He swore by (Amos 4:2)
God is love, truth, peace, our provider, and our counselor. Too many people don’t know this and I’m glad you are sharing the truth.
The characteristic I find myself coming back to again and again is that God is the author of my life. He knows how many days I have on earth, has a plan for me, and he knows what he’s doing. Sometimes I want to get upset with God because my life doesn’t look like I thought it would (I thought I would be a wife and mom by now). But the Holy Spirit always reminds me that God’s ways are not my ways. Remembering that God is in control and his ways are better than mine gives me comfort.
Love that Britney.
We just went through a big “WHO” series answering Who is God, Who is Jesus, Who is the Holy Spirit, Who are We, and Who am I?
It was a great series.
I think with Who is God, we must know He is love, He is “Father”, We also looked at John 1 “The Word was God” (MSG) and dug into that.
It was a good time. But I think we must know of God’s love for us, His hate for sin, and that He is the ultimate Father and King of Kings.
i think the characteristic that it closest to my heart is that our God is near. he is our everpresent help in trouble. he sees our every tear & hears every prayer.
knowing that always gives me hope
When I saw this yesterday on twitter my first thought was “His faithfulness.” It’s so easy to feel like He’s abandoned us when times get really difficult.
So true.
That, too, is what came to my mind. If we know that God is faithful, really know it, no matter what circumstance we are in, we can cling to hope in Him no matter the outcome.
hey Pete, when i saw the title of your post today, i couldn’t help but think of these song lyrics.
This is Our God
by Travis Cottrell
Who is this light
invading our darkness?
glorious might
the sun rising for us
Conquering night
He captures the hardest of hearts
This is our God, living and breathing
call Him courageous, relentless, and brave
this is our God, loving and reaching,
scandalous mercy and mighty to save.
Hallelujah, this is our God
sing praise
Who is this One
who will not condemn us?
why would He come
to shoulder our sentence?
Nothing we’ve done
will keep Him from giving us grace.
Who is this One
we watch and we’re speechless?
God’s only Son
embracing our weakness.
He overcomes all death
and he frees us to live
This is our God, suffering and dying
call Him the hero redeeming the lost
this is our God, love sacrificing,
all that is holy, accepting our cross.
Hallelujah, This is our God
sing praise.
He wants good things for us–not just for us to endure
He knows/sees everything and is in charge. Knowing this is inspiring if you associate authority with people not knowing what they’re doing but still being over you(i.e. a bad boss).
There is no shame–through Jesus, our sins are gone. Gone. Out of sight, out of mind. We’re the only ones who have a problem with us.
That He can be fully trusted with every area of a person’s life. And that He’s working even when He seems quiet – because that’s when we get impatient and end up (sometimes) taking things into our own hands…and we all know what happens then. It isn’t pretty.
I think that people need to know that God is a forgiver. We sin and mess up so much and He not only forgives, He forgets. He is merciful and does not treat us as our sins deserve. We deal with so much guilt as Christians and we think that we’ve let God down and He’s so mad at us and so disappointed in us. God forgives. I think about the song by Pocket Full of Rocks called Come As You Are. So true.
To me the most important attribute I can say about God as I know Him is FORGIVENESS & UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!!
The attribute of God that comes to my mind is openness… He listen to me when no one else will. He hears my cry for help and He offers me hope! The door is always open.. I never have to fear that He is rejecting me…
For me, it boils down to this… “Because He is God, and He is Who He is, I have every reason to trust God, and no reason not to.”
Psalm 139
God is…All seeing, All knowing, All powerful, and Everywhere!
This helps me feel secure and comfy/ cozy in our big, crazy world!!
As you prepare for your series, here are some questions that skeptics who hear it might be thinking:
1. God is omniscient. So, if he knows everything and knew what would happen, why did he create Lucifer in the first place?
2. God is omnipotent. So, if he can do anything in any way… why would he be so bloodthirsty? Having His people commit genocide at his command and insisting that redemption requires the shedding of blood?
3. God is love (and omniscient, knowing each individual’s very soul and how to reach it, and omnipotent so he can do ANY thing to achieve his will). So, if he loves people and his will is that all will be saved, why will some people go to Hell?
4. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. So why have his standards changed from the Old Testament to the New? (forbidden foods, polygamy, separation from certain peoples, etc.)
These are questions that have been asked of me by my agnostic and atheist friends. Maybe you have the answers because I sure don’t… ;^)
I would say the most honest thing you can say to people about God is that God is a mystery.
Someone once said to me that if you take a cup down to the ocean and fill it, that is how much we understand about God!
Just because we believe does not mean we have all the answers and that’s ok!
That we have God’s smile and that He is singing over us according to Zephaniah.
We so quickly find ourselves in a paradigm of performance where we think God’s love and acceptance and favor are based on our ability to make good choices.
The gospel shatters this paradigm and reveals to us just how scandalous grace really is.
I think the big thing to remember is that God is love and that he wants the very best for us! Sometimes the circumstances in our lives cause us to forget that He is still loving us and that he is working for our good. My former Pastor would always say … When you cant see His face ALWAYS trust His heart. His heart wants good for us.
That God is for us. He is not mad at us all the time for not being perfect.
God is faithful. That is His character. It can never change, just like my eyes are brown, that won’t change (unless I do it myself with contacts! ). He IS faithful. He will never leave us. He is trustworthy. That can never change.
One of my favorite things is that God is Uncreated. There’s so much wrapped up in that. He’s before all things and so is the Maker of all things. Who else should you go to when you’re broken but the One Who made you? His status as Uncreated means He is the only One worthy of praise because praising anything or anyone else is to give praise to something that is lesser than the One Who made it. You could go on and on. That’s why I love this attribute, it inevitably sends me on a journey through the rest of His attributes. My two cents
Love that Matt. I’m totally stealing that.
Steal away. It’s only right as much stuff as I’ve stolen from you
God is good. NO, a baby dying is not good, but God is. I am SO thankful I know God in troubled times. I don’t know how I would get through a trauma without knowing God – and that HE is good. Circumstance doesn’t dictate his goodness; and my feelings don’t interpret his goodness; God promises and promotes his goodness: that’s why he’s God.
God wants a RELATIONSHIP with us! He is not some ethereal, unapproachable, deity that we know is there but cannot relate to! He created us FOR relationship WITH HIM first, and then with others! It’s not a religion he wants us to be involved in; He wants a relationship with us. Relationships mean we share ourselves with one another; we talk to each other; we listen to each other; we are there for one another; we love each other unconditionally…and relationships take work and practice, or they fade away and die. The God of the Universe created us because He wants to relate to us! It’s up to us to reach out and relate back to Him! He never moves–we do!
that God loves us. totally. completely. without exception.
God is faithful! I’ve experienced this again and again. Seven and a half years ago My husband and I were living in a not-so-great apartment outside of Alt. (in Roswell). We had moved there form NC three months before to be a part of a new church and for my husband to be mentored in ministry. He was not employed by the church but was working south of the city almost an hour away. Our son was 20 months old and I was 2 months pregnant with our daughter. One morning I was showering and I smelled something weird. I thought our upstairs neighbors were enjoying some , ah, recreational chemicals, but I was wrong. My son came in the bathroom saying, “Uh-oh mommy. Wiggles bye-bye” I looked out of the bathroom and the TV was all snowy and then I heard a very loud banging on our front door and these words, “The building is on fire! Get out now!” I barely had time to throw on a robe and grab my cell phone before a firemen broke down the door and rushed us out.
That was the most helpless I had ever felt in my life. I was sitting on the curb watching everything go up in flames. We didn’t have renters insurance I was already told the apartment was a total loss. I didn’t even have the “clothes on my back.” My son was still in the diaper he had worn overnight. I heard one of the fireman say that the cars parked close were probably going to be ruined with heat damage and, of course, my car was front and center. My husband was a hour away, my family was two states away, and I barely knew the people we went to church with, I felt like I had less than nothing in that moment.
All can say is, God showed up. In a instant I was more than overwhelmed with His peace. I was completely calm and I knew I would be taken care of. I called my husband, he called others, and within minutes I was sitting in someone’s living room clothed and with a pack of diapers and clothes for my son. God was there and God’s people were there. Everything was going to be ok.
Within a week, we moved into a much nicer apartment full of much nicer furniture and had closets full of clothes and cabinets full of dishes and food. And even though our car suffered no damage someone gave us a mini-van to drive for a year, which made my pregnancy much easier. And the most awesome thing is even though we lost everything, there was one closet that was completely untouched. In that closet was our wedding pictures and video, pictures of our son as a baby, and all the other things that could never be replaced. God was more than faithful to us. I know what it means for Him to do “exceedingly abundantly more than I could ask and think” (Eph 3:20.
AMEN! What an awesome testimony of HIS FAITHFULNESS!
Agree with the comments made so far, the only attribute that I would add is that God has a very short memory!
That God is real. People search for real purpose, real peace, real truth, real fulfillment, real love, and real meaning in their lives through many things…self-help books, classes, psychiatrists, spritual advisors, fads, clubs, drugs, alcohol, sex, money…and the search continues, sometimes for a lifetime.
But when a person enters into a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ the search ends.
My search went on for a long time. The more earthly things I’d find that fulfilled earthly desires, the more earthly desires I’d add to the list. The more earthly fulfillment I got the longer my list got.
As a new Christian I realized that my relationship with Christ was changing the way I thought and felt about things but the big search ended the day I realized that God had actually changed the things that I want in life. It didn’t take me very long at all to realize that His desires for me are way better than anything I could ever come up with on my own.
The fact that God gave me the desires of my heart was all the proof I needed that God is real.
God is a giving God. He loves to bless those who step forward to help others in times of need and give their treasures.
And when we do step forward to do so, it shows others what God and Faith are truly about.
From the basic outline of Lucado’s Great House of God, God is:
In the Living Room – He is Abba/Daddy/Father
Like the Foundation – He is trustworthy
From the Observatory – He sends Heavenly Affection
In the Chapel – He is Awesome, man covers his mouth
By the Throne – You can actually touch the King’s Heart
In the Study – God Reveals His Will
The power of the furnace – all because we Pray
In the Kitchen – He sets an abundant table
Under that Roof – covered by His Grace
In the Family Room – we learn to Live Together
Surrounded by the Walls – we are reminded that we are His Servant, not the evil one’s
And back in the Chapel – we rely on His Power
And this very cool outline, tied to phrases from the Lord’s prayer. Such a great read, and such a powerful outline, and such the picture that made God real in my life.
Can’t wait to hear that message series Pete. Heck, I’m gonna have to come to Nashville to hear those live!
Bless you friend…
You know Pete, it is how we interpret the words that represent God’s attributes that can cause us problems. When we say God is LOVE or God is FAITHFUL what does that mean to us. I am afraid many times we make these words/attributes fit what we want them to mean. If God is LOVE then He could never allow…. [fill in the blank] As I grow in the faith I understand more and more why in the Jewish faith would not even write His name in full because anything we do to describe Him somehow diminishes who He is. He is someone we cannot grasp but yet strive to constantly. He is someone we cannot imagine so we try to imagine what we cannot imagine.
I guess to answer the question, do not be fooled by thinking we can somehow truly understand the mind of God but believe He loves us beyond our understanding.
Didn’t you ask for series ideas awhile back. This sounds a lot like my suggestion, lol. Ok, ok, all I want is a free copy of Plan B. I gave mine away.
Oh…Hiis unmerited grace!
My bad! It was on Twitter and it was similar, but different: “That’s my Jesus, what’s your Jesus like?” (w/out pointing fingers at other churches, of course).
God’s timing is perfect always for everything and He is continually working behind the scenes for our ultimate good because he is the ultimate good. He will make the worst thing in our lives become the best things that ever happened to us.
God is in a good mood!
He understands every concern and worry we have. He cares about everything we care about. About big things Like your future and failures and little things like papercuts and bug bites!
Pete, Last year my faith fell apart. What I knew about God and Christianity crumbled as I faced crisis in my life, fell into depression, and was removed from a church because I disagreed with the pastor. He told me he believed I wasn’t even a Christian because of my views and lack of submission to him. It almost cost me my faith and my life, but God had another plan, a plan B that was much greater!
With everything stripped away I had one choice, to put everything before God and ask him to show me who he was. Either it was true I was going to learn and change, or everything in my life after 25 years as a believer was based on a lie and then there was no reason to live. I had been abused in a church 5 years before this and my confidence in my own judgment and my self esteem were non-existent. I didn’t know what to believe but I had nowhere to turn but to Him. I threw out everything I knew and started over. I had to find out who God was, not who I thought He was and had been told He was by my family and The Church. I refused to move until He answered, and I waited.
He is big, enormously big! We doubt that and live with such lack of faith in who He is and what He wants to do in us and through us. He loves far more than we understand, and his heart breaks over our sin and rebellion but He will never go back on his choice to give us free will and demand we follow. Everything He speaks is for our benefit. Forgiveness is not a choice for him, it is him because He is love. Everything goes back to the cross and from the beginning of time He has planned a path of redemption for us.
My life has been utterly flipped inside out and turned on its head this past year as I have learned three things:
1) The source of truth – We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20) Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)
2) God’s identity
3) My identity
Can’t wait for the series!
This is such a great question. I love that God is so multi-faceted that you could talk forever on His character!
For me, what I’m learning about right know is the “Father Heart of God”. His love for me as a Father. I’m studying John 10:1-21, Luke 15:3-7, 11-31
It’s wrecking me, in such a good way. I want to actually KNOW what God’s heart is for me as my Father, rather than just saying He’s a good dad. You know?
Praying that He will fill you with all wisdom and revelation as you study this series.
Love. Keep it simple. God loves us no matter what we have done. He IS love. We cannot do anything that will surprise Him and make Him stop loving us.
The book “Your God is too Small” by J.B. Phillips is one that I “had’ to read for a college class, but it is one that continues to have a profound effect on my ideas of who God is. I think this book continues even to today’s world to address the many images we project on to God rather than accepting who God really is.
To me it’s the fact that God knows everything about me and still loves and accepts me. He wasn’t shocked about my past and He knows my future … so I don’t have to be afraid in the present.
His abundant love and grace will always amaze me … but I accept it with a very grateful heart.
Because God is everywhere…He is right beside me. Not because He has to be…He wants to be! I am never alone. He wants to share everything in my life me.
they’re going to truly follow God with their life? Hmmm. Maybe not on day one, but some day soon I think it is important to know the following…
I can’t find where I read this! I’ll recollect to the best of my ability. It is a true story (if I find it I’ll comment again).
Missionaries & their families were on holiday @ a beach. One missionary was swept away by the current. He was losing the battle to the ocean. The other missionary, with much struggle, managed to rescue the first and saved himself (barely).
On the shore the swept away man looked @ his friend & said, “God is good.” His friend, the rescuer, said, “Yes, and He would still be good if you had drowned/died.”
God is good. and as cliche as as it often sounds, He is good all of the time – even when we don not understand.
Gene Edwards, Prisoner in the Third Cell:
A day like that which awaited John awaits us all [John the Baptist on the day of his death]. It is unavoidable b/c every Believer imagines his God to be a certain way, and is quite sure his Lord will do certain things under certain conditions. But your Lord is never quite what you imagined Him to be.
You ahev now come face to face with a God whom you do not fully understand. You ahev met a God who has not lived up to your expectations. Every Believer must come to grips with a God who did not do things quite thte way it was expected.
You are going to get to know your Lord by faith or you will not know Him at all, Faith in Him, trust that is in Him… not His ways.
Today you are resentful of those whho callously hurt you. But no, not really. The truth is you are angry with God b/c ultimately, you are not dealing with men, you are dealing with the sovereign hand of your Lord. Behind all events, all things, there is always His sovereign hand. The question is not, “Why is God doing this? Why is He like this?” The question is not, “Why does He not answer me? The question is not, “I need Him desparately, why does He not come rescue me?” The question is not, “Why did God allow this tradegy to happen to me, to my children, to my wife, to my husband, to my family?” Nor is it, “Why does God all ow injustice?”
The question before the house is this: “Will you follow a God you do not understand? Will you follow a God who does not line up to your expectations?”
Your Lord has put something in your life which you cannot bear. The burden is simply too great. He was never supposed to do this! But the question remains, “Will you continue to follow this God who did not line up to your expectations?”
And blessed are you if you are not offended with me- Jesus, Luke 7:23
He is good. We will not always understand, but He is good and we can trust His love.
Acceptance – that He loves & accepts us right where we are at and loves us too much to let us stay right where we are.
I think that attribute is so hard for people to grasp – especially those who feel trapped in their sin or their non-belief. “How could the creator of the universe love and accept me”…but the truth is He does love me, He does accept me. He calls me to be holy, just like He is holy – but he loves me right where I’m at – in all my mess – He love me.
It’s really the simplicity that throws us off I think.
It is hard to grasp sometimes isn’t it?
Love that word “grasp”.
God is Spirit.
If we could just grasp the difference between our spirit and our body.
That could be the beginning for more people to get to know God.
We put way way to much confidence in our delicate skin and bones.(vanity)
Father, and all that entails..
God’s unchanging nature. My feelings fluctuate day-to-day, hour-by-hour. But I can rely on Him to be consistent. I love that!
I think that some of the most profound spiritual growth in my life has occurred when I have chosen to believe (and it is sometimes a very intentional choice!) that no matter what blessings or obstacles God places in my life, he is still God and he is still good.
The attribute I think about the most is love! God is love and nothing works without it! It took love to send Jesus to the cross for us. it took lovefrom the Father to send his son. It took love to reconcile us to Himself…Love, Love, Love….
This may not be a “characteristic” but something that has really helped me in my personal walk with Christ is just to know, believe and partially even understand Emmanuel “God With Us”. God loves us (yes love….but that can be so cliche when trying to explain Him)…but He loves us SO much that He gives us His very spirit. That spirit is a comfortor, counselor, guide, teacher, convictor…..that spirit transforms us with each moment passing in which we are seeking Him. So God is a transformer. (gosh now I’m distracted by thoughts of action movies). I think we get caught up in what God can do for us….and many Christians fail to realize that He has purposed us for something that has everything to do with HIM and His Kingdom… He is an artist and a designer. He is creating works of art in His people. He is creator…..and I guess it all goes back to the beginning. That was a gigantic circle. Ha.
God is I AM – not I WAS or I WILL BE, but I AM.
The book of Revelation speaks of the Lord God Almighty being one who “was, and is, and is to come”. Also being the first and the last. This doesn’t undo “I AM”….not in the slightest. Just another way of expressing that He is always, He is the everything. He is all. He is….I AM.
God is sovereign. He always listens. He always loves, unconditionally. He is always honest. He always knows and has authority over all. He will always bring things together for His good. Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, but knowing that HE IS GOD is the most important attribute to me.
His grace and faithfulness!
He can and will judge you. No matter how much we love the grace side of God, on Judgment Day we really won’t look into a mirror and judge ourselves by how we did, it will be like Isaiah, facedown, afraid for our existence, feeling like we are “ruined” as he said, and then, we will realize, we are talking to our dad, a dad who wants what is best for us and ultimately, is madly in love with us
He is my Rescuer! He came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free! He rescues us even when we don’t know we need rescuing. He rescues us the way He wants to rescue us because He sees the big picture. His rescue missions are successful when we start to look more like Him!
Psalm 23.1 – to me this says it all.
I keep coming back to grace, as seen in the story of the prodigal son. I’m glad God is there to welcome me back with open arms.
LORD GOD is the almighty, majestic creator.
(JOB 38-42)
Ask your self what is more important to you, The Lord Gods love for us, or our love for the Lord God, which is our faith.
Founded in the knowledge (through GODs WORD) that the Lord God is all that is GOOD, HOLY, and Righteous.
Through the Lord Gods unmeasurable LOVE for us. God sent Christ Jesus. (Col. 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.) That we may truly know the goodness of our HOLY father and his faithfulness through his covenant with Abraham.
The Lord God and his Glory is worthy of all praise and reverence.
This is a very hard revelation for most Americans to “WAKE UP” to or comprehend.
We are so caught up in ourselves and blinded by our consumerism, entertainment, pleasures,and pride. Not saying these are all bad things as long as the reverence of God our Lord is first in our lives.
Turn to Gods Word always!!!!!!
Find your love for God and find true freedom.
“WAKE UP” It is not about us it is about him.
JESUS is ” The way the truth and the life, he is the very word of GOD made flesh, the bread of life, the hope of glory, the resurrection and the life, he is GOD.
God speed and God bless you on this series. Pete
The one I so often come back to (and many times attempt to ignore and take into my own hands) is He is Just. He is the Judge that sits on the throne. (and I’m most definitely not) He’s also a Righteous Judge, and perfectly just. I try to apply my own wicked, sinful justice onto Him, which doesn’t work…ever.
Good question. God is knowable, yet he is unknowable at the same time. “Who can know the mind of God?” We can have a relationship with him, but we can’t expect to understand why He does certain things or allows certain things.
When we get to heaven, I think God is going to laugh at us for some of things we were so certain that we were right about.
I think the thing I struggle to understand is that God is Soeverign…this is a huge topic to tackle..for me at least
Sorry I am late to the game but I was reminded about a verse in the Shepard Psalm:
Sure goodness and [hesed] will follow me all the days of my life.
Multiple translations of that word Hesed have attempted to give it an english meaning.. but it seems a one-word description is just not enough. I like how one website put it:
Hesed = The consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, furious love of our Father God
Pete: Congrats on Plan B being in WalMart and in being in Spanish (just another reason for me to stop putting off learning Spanish!) Anyway, regarding what people should know about God…I have been thinking about the characteristic of God being JEALOUS. We normally think of jealous as negative. With God it is positive. He–as Creator–desires that which is rightfully his. We as rebel creatures often don’t want this but his jealousy is actually indication of his massive love for us.
God is love.
His overwhelming mercy and grace! We cannot, cannot, cannot earn God’s love for us. It is freely given. I truly believe that this is one of the hardest concepts for Christians to grasp. Satan has got a true hold on this one Pete!
The wholeness of God.
When we follow God with our lives, and surrender everything completely to him, He completes and fills us unlike anything else can.
There is a fullness and completion to be had in surrendering our lives to the fullness of the Creator of the universe.
I have two:
1) (and hear me out on this one) We are not in debt to God for our salvation, because nothing we could ever do could even come close to repaying him for it, it’s not about us, it’s about Him, thus we give our lives out of freewill to Him, not debt.
2) God cannot lie. titus 2 tells us this clearly.
That God is perfect. God is perfect for everyone all the time, in each moment in just the way we need Him to be.
Attributes I think of:
Unbelieveable love – a perfect love that has no boundaries, no expectations, it is pure
Dependable – always there always!
Peace – when I pursue Him I find peace
Forgiving – He doesn’t hold a grudge
Rescuer – not just in the terms of the gospel but whatever I am going thru He is there for me.
He knows what I need, walking with Him is not always easy but when I do (even when I think I’m right & whine about what he is saying) it always turns out that He knew what was best!
1. God is one (Duet. 6:4)
2. God has 3 distinct personalities (John 1:1)
3. God is spirit (John 4:24)
4. God is omniscient (Acts 15:18)
5. God is omnipotent (Rev. 4:8)
6. God is omnipresent (Acts 17:27)
7. God is infinitely just (Romans 3:25)
8. God is infinitely holy (Revelation 4:8)
9. God is infinitely good (Matthew 19:17)
10. God is eternal (1 Timothy 1:17)
11. God is unchangeable (James 1:17)
12. God is the creator of all things (Rev. 4:11)
First of all, two points for the Dallas Willard quote. So good.
God is a community called Trinity. It can be easy to overlook the implications of that.
God is Love. It’s not something He does but who He is.We are in relationship with perfect Love.
I think the hardest thing about our walk with Christ is that we tend to read the Bible and filter through our culture and life experience. Our image of God is filtered by our image of our earthly father which is never perfect. It’s tough to let go of self and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you.
Did you ever listen to Aaron and Jeoffrey from the 80′s? They wrote a song called “He is”. Every book of the Bible gives a description of God. They put that to music. So my answer would be knowing who God is according to the word. I wouldn’t expect any newbie to read the whole bible of course but we can give em the short version ourselves.
God is our Father. He just loves us, in ways that we can’t comprehend. I am a mother myself and through raising a difficult teenager (who is now turning out well) I learned a lot about God as my Heavenly Father.
I was not always happy with the choices my son made, and yet I still loved him. God has even a greater love for his children. My heart ached about the problems my son was going through and I am sure that the heart of God was aching for him too. And yet I still loved my son and so will God.
I’ve learned through experience that in the most difficult time in my life (when my son was in jail after a fight that went wrong) that God was there for me. I read daily in the Scriptures and there was always some comfort, some advice, some insight or some love to be found. I really felt that He ‘saw’ me, that He knew what I was going through. He is really a caring Father.
He knows more about us, sees us and know what we need. He is truly a loving Father.
That God is faithful and his promises will never break under the weight of any problem or trial we will ever face.
One is so hard. But the first one that came to mind is Sovereign. The next one that came to mind is Faithful. I think as a woman who desires to truly follow God, it is important for me to know that He is in control even when things seem to be spinning out of control. And, it is so important to me to know that He is always faithful. Period.
Both of these attributes of God bring me comfort and peace in times of uncertainty and when wrestling with my sinfulness.
Hi Pete,
Someone once said that the most important question people have is not whether God exists, but what kind of God exists? Maybe the picture so many of us have in our minds about the nature and character of God is inaccurate and can, as a result, push us away from God. Ideas formulated from our own psychological projections, bad experiences of earthly fathers, or inaccurate biblical teaching can all contribute to false ideas.
Maybe the best thing we all can do in as we seek to understand, learn and draw close to God is to view Him through the One who reveals Him best – Jesus Christ. As the one who is God, reveals God and demonstrates God supremely, He alone can truly and definitively show us the Father. Whatever we see Jesus do and say, in some way or another, provides us with a glimpse of the nature and character of God. Everything else we have ever come to learn should be trumped by God’s revelation in and through Jesus Christ.
This really isn’t a shameless plug, but I’ve written about these ideas briefly on my blog under the titles of “Jesus: God’s Answer to the Problem of Suffering”, and “A Lesson on Painting” – http://www.jkclarke77.wordpress.com
Have a great time putting these teachings together and may the people at CrossPoint come to know God in a more real, accurate, and personal way.
All the best!
Jeff
God is immutable. (I learned about the word when it was used in a series by our Church.) It means unchanging. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The other topics of the series were omniscient and omnipotent.
Grace was the first thing that came to mind. We so often hear people say “I didn’t deserve that”, but they are usually talking about something bad that happens to them. I always think, “What about the good things that happen to us? Do we really deserve all of them?” Fortunately, for me, God doesn’t think in terms of what we deserve, and he is very generous with his blessings.
He’s my Heavenly Daddy. When I stick with a “childlike” faith (I’m 60), all the questioning, justifying, reasoning are gone. As with my earthly daddy, I love Him, I know His love for me, I want to please Him and be obedient(I’d rather not have Him discipline me!). Ü
He is a refuge to the poor, broken, downtrodden, beaten, etc. Refuge
The words to a song that came to mind.
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone. He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on, made in His likeness the weak become strong, His Strength is perfect…..His strength is perfect.
God is always there. When you feel like the world is crashing in and no one loves you or cares for you, when nothing goes as planned – God is there. He knows, and He is always there for you.
I put God in many tiny boxes that He is definitely too big for. The concepts I struggle with are His grace, His measureless love, and His perfect plan.
After reading these responses, I can’t wait for this series!
What hit me one day and meant so much to me is that He understands. Understands our thoughts, actions, everything. There is great comfort in that realization.
He is pure. There is not even a sliver of God that is snide, manipulative or devious–or that doesn’t wholly desire us to wholly know Him. His intentions are pure, His love is pure, His plan is pure.
The first thing that came to me was “His Grace”. The next thought came so fast it ran right up it’s backside… “but He is also Just”.
I wonder what all our answers say about out individual walks with Him?
i love this subject! one day writing a love note to my babe, i was listing all the things i love about him. later, God whispered ‘what are the things you love about me?’. soooo i made a valentine for God and then blogged it. here are the characteristics i love about God:
http://andreahinton.blogspot.com/2010/05/things-i-love-about-you-god.html
http://andreahinton.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-i-loves.html
i know it’s more than ‘one’, but there are so many and so many more! i can’t wait for this series!
God is an awesome God! Through doubts, despair and moments of weakness, he is your strength. God will be your friend. God will be your Father. God will be forever yours all he asks is to believe in Him. To love Him and spread his glory. Believe in God and have Faith in others.
One important attribute to understand is God’s desire for us is ALWAYS for good things. This is often difficult to understand for some. One common question among non-believers, new believers and even mature believers that I know is, “If God is a loving God that wants only good for me, why does bad stuff happen?” It is critical that people understand God does not “send”, “bring” or “cause” the bad things that happen to us. He is not sitting up there waiting for us to slip up so He can reach down and strike us with sickness, disease, job loss, financial devastation, etc. That would be rather hypocritical of Him – after all, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the consequences for our “slip ups” (sins). Yes, God will “allow” – not cause, but ALLOW bad things to happen. I am convinced though that He allows NOTHING to happen that cannot ultimately bring Him glory. Whether or not He receives the glory He is due, even from the “bad” events we face, is entirely up to us. It is totally dependent on our response to the circumstances He allows. As a believer, I am confident to follow Him because I know, through His Word, that ALL things I encounter can be for my good and ultimately bring Him glory – IF I cling to Him, follow Him and trust Him to sustain me until I see and experience the fruition of the GOOD that derives even from what appears to be bad. He took the most cruel, gruesome, despicable act in history, the slaying of His Son, and turned it into the most beautiful, awesome event there ever was or ever will be – period. Having proved He can do that, taking the “bad” things that come my way and turning them to good is a veritable cakewalk. May I always thank Him, honor Him and glorify Him – even in the “bad”. Sometimes, what looks like the absolute worst thing that could happen ends up being the best thing, far beyond what we could ever imagine.
Grace
God is good. If you can dwell on His goodness (His love, grace, and the cross) then you will be able to follow Him audaciously anywhere and know He has your back.
Check out Judah Smith’s http://jesus-is.org/ to see what other people think…
God took me through another season this year where He taught me more about His attributes
I LOVE this!
These are the ones that had the most impact:
His Wisdom (wisdom can only come from God, but knowledge from anywhere)
His sovereignty
His Grace
And this was my absolute favorite – it made my breath catch when He said it…
BEAUTY.
I meditated on His beauty for an entire day and it just fed my soul. It was incredible…
That God loves you and wants you.
Link to the blog your post inspired :0)
http://aaronshappyplace.blogspot.com/2010/09/truth-vs-lies.html
I’ve given up on trying to come up with descriptives for who God is… because frankly, to me, there are no words to describe. And I kinda like that feeling of being unable to wrap my head around everything He is (and isn’t)… it just reminds me that my little human brain and heart can’t comprehend how great He is and how He loves me… and that’s good – because if I could fathom, then there would be limitations to Him (and there are none).
God is Holy. I think oftentimes we forget this as the body of Christ. We get all messed up in works and righteousness which often leads to the “more holy than thou” syndrome that critics of Christianity detest. At the end of it all- past all our fancy words and works and deeds – there is God and he alone is holy and then there is eveything else. Any good in me, any holiness, any love, is simply a reflection of God’s work in my life. All fall short of the glory of God, all! We must be very careful to not get caught up in thinking that the amazing work that Gods does through His servants is some product of our righteousness. It is simply a reflection of His holiness. Apart from Chirst’s love- we would all drive the nail into His hands.
God is God and I am not.
God is unconditional love. The love that a puppy has for you. The love that you can see in a baby’s smile. Doesn’t matter what you did yesterday, He love you today (period).
Pastor P,
The thing I struggle with in my mind as I try to live and breath in my relationship with God is this. I know God is able and all powerful to ____.(you fill in the blank)but will He show up?
I suppose its my lack of understanding and lack of faith in God to trust that He knows what is best for me in our relationship.
I suppose my point is this. Even with my lack of faith from time to time and my ability to jack my life up, God still offers mercy, grace and love. He is faithful and true and offers us the opportunity to come into His presence and commune with Him. What love this is.
for some reason this song came to mind. It was recorded by Chris rice several years ago.
GOD DOESN’T KNOW
(Mark Lowry)
Mama always told me that God knows everything
He hung the stars and knows them all by name
And now that I’m older I’ve grown to love Him so
I bound that there are some things even God doesn’t know
God doesn’t know a sinner He can’t love
A broken heart He can’t mend
A fallen tear He can’t dry
God doesn’t know a place where He can be
In a moments time to meet you’re every needs
Yes there’s some things my God just doesn’t know
He knows each thought I’m thinking before I say a word
He knows the pain before a prayer is heard
Father to the orphans He hears the widows cry
And somehow He knows the answer
Before we ask Him why.
keep it real!
Don
We did Chip Ingram’s “God as He Longs For You to See Him.” Tozer’s quote was the premise for the book: “what you believe about God is the most important thing about you.” The attribute that I CONTINUALLY go back to over and over since I did the study over 2 years ago and seem to have the opportunity to share over and over again is God’s Wisdom. Tozer’s quote: “the wisdom of God tells us that God will bring about the best possible results, by the best possible means, for the most possible people, for the longest possible time.” Ingram’s paraphrase: “if there were a better way to do it, then I would be experiencing those other circumstances instead of these. If there were a kinder, faster, more expedient, or gentler way, God would be using it.” If you truly believe that God is in control, that “He holds our every moment” and that “from life’s first cry to final breath He controls our destiny”…then what is happening now, Plan A or Plan B, you can trust God’s wisdom that if there was a better way for it to happen, it would be happening that way……That statement alone has had a PROFOUND impact on my life…..
Pete. Here are the words to a song by that same name. Written by David moffitt
Here are the lyrics. I’ve posted the audio below.
Who is this light
invading our darkness?
glorious might
the sun rising for us
Conquering night
He captures the hardest of hearts
This is our God, living and breathing
call Him courageous, relentless, and brave
this is our God, loving and reaching,
scandalous mercy and mighty to save.
Hallelujah, this is our God
sing praise
Who is this One
who will not condemn us?
why would He come
to shoulder our sentence?
Nothing we’ve done
will keep Him from giving us grace.
Who is this One
we watch and we’re speechless?
God’s only Son
embracing our weakness.
He overcomes all death
and he frees us to live
This is our God, suffering and dying
call Him the hero redeeming the lost
this is our God, love sacrificing,
all that is holy, accepting our cross.
Hallelujah, This is our God
sing praise.
I heard a great quote just yesterday made by Micheal W. Smith. He was finishing a live interview about his new album and he said,”GOD chose you to be in HIS story, Keep looking up.” That spoke to me so much! HE is the author of my life and just like any good book there will be ups/downs, joy/tragedy, excitement/suspense,FEAR/faith.
As a mom of 9 – 7 through int’l adoption I have been in the position to explain who God is to them many times. I have been blessed to pray 5 of them into the Kingdom so far. Trusting God for the little ones to come too.
The one thing that I see that effects them the most is His unchanging, never ending love.
When I say this to our hurting children with pasts harder than most adults have ever experienced tears of pain come and then tears of complete joy.
Me: Why does He love you?
child: Because He loves me.
Me: Why?
child: Because He loves me.
Me: Why does He love you?
child: Because HE LOVES ME! With a smile that reflects His love overwhelming them.
His love is indescribable. His love is heart healing, mind soothing, soul changing.
His love has nothing to do with anything we will ever do. His love simply is. Because He loves us – we live from it – NOT for it!
Rest in HIS love for you. Nothing we can ever do will change it or take it away. Romans 8!
Blessings Pete on this next series! Powerful stuff will come from sharing WHO GOD IS!
Jill
I would say the Incarnation. Fully God fully human fully feeling/experiencing fully understanding of where/what we go through but showed us the right way to do it.
God is Daddy… I know for some people, saying God is father, daddy, whatever brings up bad connotations – but, especially after reading The Shack, I think it’s important to have a real personal name for God as a reminder for me.
For me it was learning that God’s consistency doesn’t mean He will always be there with goose bumps emotionally pushing me in a direction, sometimes His consistency (in the way He loves and stretches me) means a cold and lonely decision to make in faith were He meets me ln the other side.