The True Nature of God

"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." -1 John 4:16
 
Many times we are taught to believe, consciously or subconsciously, either through culture, the media, or false religious teachings, that God is certain things He is not. I used to believe that God was angry and menacing, ready to strike me down if I sinned! But I have since realized that God is not that way at all... 

Until we have had an encounter with the true God, who knows us completely and loves us so much, we will not know who He really is.

According to the Bible, God is:

• Good (Ps 73:1, Ps 116:5, Mark 10:18, Ps 135:3)
• Just (Hebrews 6:10, Deut 32:4, Ps 52:1, Ps 36:6, Ps 40:9, Ps 94:1, Ps 89:14, Ps 119:142)
• Creative (Genesis 1, 2 Kings 19:15, Job 26:10, Job 31:15, Ps 33:6, Ps 89:11, Ps 104:30, Prov 8:22)
• Merciful (Ps 116:5, Jonah 4:2, Eph 2:4)
• Holy (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19, 1 Sam 2:2, Ps 71:22, Ps 99:5, Is 48:17, Hosea 11:9, 1 Peter 1:15)
• Defender (Ps 48:3, Ps 68:5, Prov 22:23, Is 51:22)
• Righteous (Ps 89:14, Is 45:21,1 John 2:29)
• Fun (Commanding celebrations & feasts) (Exodus 12:14, 12:17, 12:47, 23:14, Deut 14:26, 16:10, 16:11, 16:15, 16:16, Neh 8:17, Ps 21:13, Prov 23:16, etc., 1 Cor 5:8)
• Faithful (Deut 7:4, 7:9, 32:4, Ps 71:22, Ps 89:8, Ps 98:3, 1 Cor 1:9, 1 Thes 5:24)
• Great (Ps 70:4, Exodus 18:11, Deut 3:24, 7:21, 10:17, 2 Chronicles 2:5, 2 Sam 7:22, Job 22:12)
• All-Knowing (1 Cor 13:12, 1 John 3:20, Ps 94:10, Matt 6:18)
• Savior (Zeph 3:17, Is 45:21, Ps 18:2, Ps 38:22, Ps 43:5, Ps 70:5, Is 43:3, Is 43:11, Luke 2:11, John 4:42, Acts 13:23, Titus 1:4, 1 John 4:14, Jude 1:25)
• Compassionate (Jonah 4:2, Exodus 34:6, Deut 13:17, Ps 51:1, Ps 86:15, Ps 103:8, Mark 1:41, Luke 6:36)
• Available (Deut 4:7, Ps 91:15, Isaiah 58:9, Jeremiah 29:13)
• Sovereign (Gen 15:2, Exodus 23:17, Deut 9:26, Joshua 7:7, Judges 6:22, 2 Sam 7:19, Acts 4:24)
• Slow to anger (Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18)
• All-Powerful, Mighty (Ps 77:13, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Jeremiah 27:5, Acts 4:10)
• Kind (Romans 2:4, Romans 11:5&6, 2 Cor 6:1)
• Love, most of all (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16, John 3:16, Micah 7:18, Rom 8:39, Eph 3:18)

God's love comes first. The reason He is everything else He is is because of His love. Jesus is the ultimate expression and personality of God on the earth, because He, too, was God.

Have you experienced God's true nature and His unending love for you today? How have you seen God show up in your life? Why not get to know Him better. He wants to hang out with each of us and help us, in every area of our lives.

God is Good

"Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: 'Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked him. 'Only God is truly good.'" -Luke 18:18 & 19 

Have you ever said about someone, "She's such a good person," or "He's a good person"? I've found myself saying this many times, admiring people who do right by others.  But when I read the verse above, I was completely taken aback!  How can anyone be good, if Jesus Himself said He wasn't good - that only the Father was good?

Though it is a figure of speech, "being good" brings up an important point. You might have heard it said before, good doesn’t get us into heaven.  That seems kind of harsh, doesn't it?  However, Jesus wasn't interested in good.  He made the statement "only God is good", because only God is perfect, and no one on earth is perfect.  The Pharisees got tripped up on this point - after all, they did all the right things!  They were "good" people.  But, they completely missed the boat when they encountered Jesus - that He was the truth, He was their salvation - and they didn't even recognize Him.  

There is nothing we can do to make ourselves good, or perfect. The truth is, none of us are good on our own. But through Jesus, we have been provided a way out.  The one thing we can do is receive the gift of Jesus, so that we can be saved from our imperfections and live in eternity with Him. When we receive God into our lives, we become more than we ever could be, and His "good" rubs off on us, which then rubs off on others.  

Why not receive God’s goodness today?  "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps 100:5