God Is... Sovereign Creator

By Nick (My Experience As...)

Created by Love

When we approach God one of the hardest things to accept is that He doesn’t need us. As a parent I might have thought at one point I didn’t “need” my children, but they define me. I am a dad. I can’t be a dad without children. More than that, I can’t image my life without them. I need them. They make me whole.

God is nothing like that.  He is whole and complete without us.  Some may feel that He is “more” with us, but that would make him less than infinite. That is what makes Creation such an incredible event.

For an eternity, that is an infinite span into the past (I say span instead of time because time as we might be able to comprehend didn’t exist because it assumes a beginning), God existed and needed nothing. At some point He made a decision to create.  In one instant nothing existing and in the next instant everything existed.

Science points to this instant. In my “I Owe You an Apology” series I delve into this in detail, but there is so much more than just the science.  In creating the very foundation of … well everything, God wrote a giant “I love you” across the Universe.

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God Is... Almighty

By Jason V (Ponderings of a Pilgrim Pastor)

God Almighty Rules Over All

"The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19)

Do you remember when you first discovered that your dad was not really all-powerful?  When I was a small boy, I really did think my dad could do anything.  My dad is pretty handy and big (over 6' 5"), so to a small 6-year-old, he seemed like Superman.  Yet like all of you, I had to endure the hard, slow realization that my dad was not, in fact, omnipotent, until, as a teenager, I wondered if my dad could do anything right at all.

Some people (even those who call themselves "Christian") think that our typical childhood experiences with our earthly dads is a model for what should happen to our view of God over time, as we mature in our faith.  As crises and conflicts come, they reason, we ought to see that a world full of evil is incompatible with an all-powerful and all-good God.  Since we all believe that God is good, we must then abandon the idea that God is all-powerful in favor of a God who looks a lot more like our limited and fallible dads.

The Bible gives us no room whatsoever for such a pale view of God. In Scripture after Scripture, God shines through with radiance as the great and glorious King of the Universe. "Nothing is impossible with God," the Bible boldly proclaims time and again (see Luke 1:37 and Mark 10:27). When God's people doubt His power in Isaiah 59:1, "Surely, the arm of the LORD is not too short to save."

When Jesus came, He demonstrated the Almighty power of God.  Jesus showed unmistakably that nothing could stand in God's way or frustrate His will.  God was mighty enough to create life in the womb of a virgin.  He was mighty enough to use a wicked king's edict to get His Son to the proper place to be born, Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2).  He was able to use dreams and visions to deliver His Son from the hands of a murderous tyrant (read Matthew 2). 

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God Is... All-Glorious

By Dusty (Reflections on the Life of a Christian)

God is Worthy of Glory

God is worthy of all glory. He alone is consistently deserving of our praise. Even the majesty and splendor of creation exalts His name.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)

"I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." (Psalm 57:9-11)

"Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

There is no other like God. No one can compare to Him. He is worthy.

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God Is... Father

By Jason S (Connecting to Impact)

I wanted to do this particular attribute last because it's such an exciting and amazing topic.

How can you not help but marvel at a God who has infinite power and wisdom, is present everywhere at once, Creator, Provider, Sustainer, Self-existent, and on and on–yet He also reveals Himself as "Father to the fatherless" (Psalm 68:5).

He refuses to allow anyone to be orphaned, but this mentality pervades our culture and even our churches. We don't truly understand what it means to be called a son, but we really need to get it.

"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:14-15)

If we are sons, we carry a different mentality and authority. We go through testing and trials, but we don't have to doubt His love or our position.  Our service and devotion flows from knowing Him and His knowing us fully.

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God Is... Forgiving

By Jay Cookingham (Soulfari)

The deepest part of the ocean at 36,200 feet (11,033 m or 11.03 km) is an alien looking place called Challenger Deep, within the Marianas Trench. This cold, deep dark is far beyond the reach of sunlight and is as remote of a place as you can find on this planet.

Imagine for a moment a place so far away, so unreachable and unseen that it boggles the mind.

It made me wonder what would our lives be like if our mistakes, failures…the things that haunt us from our past got tossed away. You know, those past events that hinder our walk, regret, painful memories…what would it be like if they were buried so deep, NEVER to be found again?

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)

The prophet Micah uses this powerful word picture in describing the depths of God’s forgiveness. Here displayed is the Father’s mercy, for when He forgives, not only does He subdues; but also He conquers our sins and hurls it far way from us. In the depth of that forgiveness is freedom, not just from sin but the effects of sin as well.

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