what’s God like?

“His divine attributes are what we know to be true of Him. An attribute is not a part of God. It is how God is. Which means, between God‘s attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all his attributes are one. In other words, all of God does all that God does.” - Tozer

Why does this matter?

​Because, if this is so, then God’s perfect love and mercy, wisdom and grace, goodness and faithfulness, kindness and compassion, justice and gentleness, power and presence, are all fully, perfectly and simultaneously at work, in all things, for our good.

That is the God I can trust wholeheartedly as I live life in Him, with Him, and for Him♥️
Want to know more? He gave us the Bible:)
#Glory

God brought all things into being to share his life with us. The Maker of heaven and earth and everything in it is pleased to dwell with you. He’s all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful and is always, only out for your good. He’s never pressed for time, never has to rush from thing to thing, never has to squeeze you into his schedule. He sees all things and never makes a mistake. He takes all things, every scenario, into consideration as he works for your good. His timing is always perfect — never too early, never too late. He made a good world and made you and me in his image so that together with him we would reflect his goodness out into the world making this a glorious place to be.

Wise in our own eyes, we decided to determine for ourselves if something was good or bad. But we are unable to see the whole picture like God can and cannot possibly make the right decision with our limited perspective, without him. And while our decisions have had disastrous outcomes, God so loved us, that he never flinched as he set into motion, before the world even began, a rescue plan that would cost him dearly but would save us from utter destruction by restoring us back into that glorious life with him and in him. And yet, the choice is yours. Want to know more? He gave us the Bible:)

sweet Christmas gift from Jesus - worth curling up on a couch w/a cup of coffee (or tea) and listening to. Merry Christmas❤️

had a conversation with someone who was wondering how it's even fair for Christians to assume that the God of the Bible is the One and Only God for all people. the thought was that U.S. Christians are pretty presumptuous to think that "our God" is the God all people need to come to know (versus someone else's version of god)...this is my brief attempt to begin to answer that

God Cares For You ...can you say, deep down, that you genuinely believe that to be true? what about when your workplace is restructuring and you are being let go? Or you get a call from your parents who inform you that one of them has been diagnosed w/cancer? what about when business is down and you need to make some tough decisions, or someone you care about always seems to be down on their luck & they’re facing yet another “wrong time & place” scenario?  what about when you receive unexpected news about your own health or when hopes & dreams have been dashed to pieces? 

here’s what I know. God knew the mess we were about to make of His good world when we decided to try our own hand at making right & wrong decisions without Him.  And even while we were turning our backs on Him, He was moving to bring about our rescue!  He came & entered His now sin-stained world, walked in the middle of the mess, endured the tragic consequences that we made of the place, not for Himself!  He took those horrible tragedies to the cross, where they were defeated and where He busted thru even death itself!  Why? why in the world would He do that?  Again, it certainly wasn’t for Himself - He had been living in a state of perfect unity & community in the heavenly realm prior to His entrance on earth. So, definitely NOT for Himself...but for US!  Out of His self-sacrificing, self-giving love (cus that’s what real love is) He left His throne & all its glory to do for us what we were helpless to do for ourselves. He came and won the battle against Evil. It’s been defeated. And will one day be done away with for good!  in the meantime...know that there is a Name that is above all names, and He is the one who is working ALL things together for good for those who love Him. You haven’t been abandoned. He sees every big & little thing you’re walking thru, He’s there with you.  And while our limited perspective looks at our circumstances and says, “the only way this situation could possibly end in a way that I think is good is if...” (fill in the blank). But, dear friends, it’s in that moment when we’ve yet  again (think Adam & Eve), decided that WE know what’s good and what’s not!  my encouragement - remember there is One who sees it ALL, He sees way more than our limited perspective ever will, His thoughts are not ours, His Ways are so much higher, and He is the One who is with you, leading you, navigating you thru the tough terrain that seemingly makes no sense to the human eye. He’s there and tells you to abide in Him. Don’t wander away, draw nearer - He really is for you.  The tragic yet beautiful act  displayed on the cross is proof!  Gotta trust someone — your imperfect self?  Or the flawless, perfect One who’d rather die than live without you!  back to the opening sentence (and this Sunday’s big idea):  “God cares for you.”  It’s truer than you can imagine❤️ WHATEVER you're walking thru this week, there is One who is near & dear, He is good and He IS working to set all things right and make all things new...because He loves you that much!

In our limited knowledge we may think, “I’m genuinely a good person.  I love God.  I walk with Him – going where He leads, doing the things He asks me to do.  God seems to be pleased with me so, it only makes sense, that God would bless me with things I would like. “
 
For instance, maybe what you really long for is a family to love.  You want to bear your own children and raise them in the LORD.  But you haven’t been able to conceive.  Why would it be this way?  Doesn’t seem to make good sense, right?  You know you love God with all your heart.  You know living with Him and for Him genuinely describes your life.  Why wouldn’t He bless you with a child?
 
May I suggest that we just might be looking at it all wrong.  We’re looking at life through our limited human perspective – a perspective that is broken and in desperate need of redeeming and repair.
 
I was reading Zechariah’s story in Luke 1 beginning in verse 5:  “In the time when Herod was King of Judaea, there was a priest called Zechariah, of the priestly division of Abijah.  His wife, who came from the Aaron family, was called Elisabeth.  Both of them were righteous in God’s sight; they followed all the LORD’s commandments and ordinances without fault.  THEY HAD NO CHILDREN.  Elisabeth was barren, and both of them were of an advanced age…”   
 
Here’s a couple who, though righteous in God’s sight, had no children (which was a disgrace for couples at that time and in that culture).  Was God mad at them?  Was He punishing them?  Neither of these.  So what was wrong?  Nothing at all in God’s eyes…except maybe OUR perspective!  Why do we think that being righteous in God’s sight automatically means that we will, OF COURSE, have whatever good thing we’d like, whenever we’d like.  In this case, bear children.  We have put the two together believing that a good God will of course just do this for us (in our time frame and in our way).
 
Yet, God is always working.  He hasn’t abandoned us.  BUT, His ways are not ours.  He sees a much bigger picture than we do.  Therefore, His timing and His doings are always right, always perfect and always best.  What if we suspended our expectations and simply said, “God, I love you.  Nothing is more important than You.  I want to know You.  I want to walk with You.  I want to reflect You.”  No agenda.  No expectations.  No broken perspective.  We let God be God and trust Him literally WITH ALL THINGS, knowing that He is good, that He loves us with an everlasting love and is out for our good.
 
It doesn’t mean we don’t share our heart and our desires with Him.  He wants us to.  Instead, we go to Him, freely & often, sharing our heart’s desires with Him and entrusting them to Him since He’s the one that sees and knows all things (and we’re the ones with limited sight and knowledge). 
 
I wonder what it might feel like to simply live with Him and in His Presence while leaving the details to Him…Merry Christmas Season friends <3
 
 

It's a super sweet, super fun story of hope and rescue as Bella goes from "lost to found" (Lk 15:32)
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