Friday, June 20, 2014

Discovering GOD (Part 2)...

"Discovering who God really is will change your life."  (Discover God Bible Study)

Last summer I needed something new to study and picked up a Bible study that had been sitting on my book shelf for at least a couple years.  This study was based on a classic by the late Dr. Bill Bright (Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), Discover God, in which he explores 12 of God's attributes and how we can experience them in our own lives.  In my last post I shared my journey of discovering God and His attributes in a deeper way, covering the first 6 attributes in this 'Discovering GOD' study.  And now for the next 6 attributes...


BECAUSE GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING,
I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.
"Unlike man's knowledge, God's knowledge is never supersceded or made obsolete by new discoveries" (Bill Bright, in Discover God).  Wow.  God knows all - He knows all of past, present and future in all places, of all people and all times.  And yet He also intimately knows every feeling, every fear, every desire, every joy, and more!  He knows every one of my sins and struggles, yet loves me completely.  And He knows my future, as I follow Him, trust Him and rest in Him.  I need not fret over the past failures, the present challenges or the unknown (to me) future.

My response to God's All-Knowing Nature:  Come to Him in prayer for the challenges I'm facing rather than runnin to others to vent or verbalize or gossip my frustrations.  Recognize that He knows all completely, and I don't!


BECAUSE GOD IS RIGHTEOUS,
I will live by His standards.
Do you know what a 'plumb line' is?  If you've ever worked in construction or built a building you do.  And whether we know it or not, we have all experienced the benefits of a plumb line!  A plumb line is used to test if something is straight, such as a wall on a building.  God's Word is the 'plumb line' used to test our lives, yet so often the world creates it's own 'plumb lines' which are not according to God's standards.  Let me
put it this way - if you are looking at a c
rooked line claiming it to be perfectly straight, then chances are, you are standing crooked as well!

My response to God's Righteousness:  Ask God daily to show me where my life is out of line from His 'plumb line' and ask Him to help me come back into alignment with His Word, His commands and His standards through His Spirit.


BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL,
I will trust Him to always keep His promises.
Do I believe this?  I know I say that I do - I sing of His faithfulness, I speak of His faithfulness, I recall His faithfulness displayed throughout His Word.  But when it comes to my experience, my life, my future - do I truly believe this?  Do I ACT like I believe this?  I know that I sometimes struggle to believe in His faithfulness when it comes to my singleness and desires for marriage and a family.  How I desire to experience rest and contentment in Him, knowing that He is sovereign and knows what He's doing and how to take care of me and provide for me in all ways.  Furthermore, He's always right (because He's RIGHTEOUS) in how and when He keeps His promises.

My response to God's Faithfulness:  Meditate on His faithfulness (in general and personally to me).  And seek to be more faithful to Him in rising early in the morning to spend time with Him each day, in prayer and in His Word.


BECAUSE GOD IS SOVEREIGN,
I will joyfully submit to His will.
It's hard to accept God's sovereignty and to joyfully submit to His will when things are not going the way I want!  I am a planner, so I don't like when things don't go the way I've planned (or think I've planned).  Yet, when I demand (in attitude, thoughts, words and/or actions) to be sovereign over my own life, I'm essentially saying that God is not sovereign OR that He is not being good or just in His sovereignty...and I could do better!.  Oh my...this is a hard pill to swallow.  But I can rest assured that He is in control and He knows what He's doing, even when I don't like it.

My response to God's Sovereign Power:  Thank Him for the way He displays His sovereignty and will in my life.  Commit my plans and my agendas each day and each week to Him.  And commit my future to Him...


BECAUSE GOD IS JUST,
He will always treat me fairly.
You may or may not agree with this statement.  In fact, at first I struggled with this one.  But I began to realize the reason I struggled with it was due to whose viewpoint I defined 'fair'.  I naturally view fairness from my point of view - what I think is fair.'  There are things that I watch happen to those I love or to myself in which I would say "that's just not fair"!  But this is fairness from God's point of view.  Whether or not it feels fair to me at the time, God is Just.  And I must remember that I do not see the whole picture like He does - He is outside of this world and time and space to which I am confined.  And when I see injustice on this earth, I should desire fair treatment!  That's a Godly response!

My response to God's Justice:  I'm challenged to consider if and where and how if I'm lending my voice to a struggle for justice.  I continue to ask God to show me what I can do or how I can respond or help victims of injustice around me.


BECAUSE GOD NEVER CHANGES,
My future is secure and eternal.
This might be the most encouraging attribute to me personally of the 12 attributes I studied.  I am fickle - I've come to accept that about myself.  I desire to be that 'Steady Eddie' type of personality, not really phased by much, but I'm not!  My emotions run deep, and wide.  I'm a verbal processor, and not always committed to everything that comes out of my mouth, unfortunately.  And while I know that aspects of these things are a part of the way God wired me and that He too is deep with emotion, I take comfort in knowing that He never changes.  He is full of emotion, and yet constant in His character.  He is always present, I can trust and depend on Him at all times and in all ways.  And what's more, this means His attributes never change!

My response to God's Unchanging Character:  Thank Him that His character is unchanging, and for the security I experience through faith in Jesus.  Blog about these unchanging attributes I've been studying as a way of praise and sharing with others.


Thanks for joinging my journey through these 12 attributes of God.  To learn more about the Discover God book by Bill Bright, the Discover God Bible Study, or other related resources, go to DiscoverGod.com.  And please feel free to share your responses to a deeper understanding of God's attributes in your life too!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Discovering GOD (Part 1)

"Discovering who God really is will change your life."  (Discover God Bible Study)

Do you ever have those Bible studies or books that sit your shelves for years and you think, "One day I should read that book or do that study..."?  Last summer I needed something new to study and picked up a Bible study that had been sitting on my book shelf for at least a couple years.  This study was based on a classic by the late Dr. Bill Bright (Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), Discover God, in which he explores 12 of God's attributes and how we can experience them in our own lives.  After spending 6 months in this study, I wanted to share my journey of discovering God and His attributes in a deeper way, covering the first 6 attributes in this 'Discovering GOD (Part 1)' post...


BECAUSE GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL,
He can help me with anything.
First-off, I was struck by this quote from Bill Bright in his book Discover God, "If we really believe that God is all-powerful, we will no longer walk in fear and unbelief.  We will place our faith in God - not necessarily great faith in God, but rather faith in a great God who is omnipotent."  Wow.  Do I really believe that God is all-powerful?  Or do I walk in fear and unbelief?  And in what areas of my life do I walk in fear and unbelief?  I was most convicted in the area of singleness - walking in fear and unbelief and failing to trust in His power to take care of me in this.

My response to God's Mighty Power:  Surrender my singleness to Him each day.  I feel powerless, but often try to run on my own 'power' in this area.  I want to experience HIS power in this area, whatever that looks like.


BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY,
I will devote myself to Him in purity, worship, and service.
Holiness is a hard concept to grasp.  The best words I can use are purity, white, clean, set apart, perfect.  But I'm not sure how well we can really comprehend His holiness until we reach heaven.  I desire to experience His holiness in my life, as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:1-5.  I desire to be a living sacrifice, set apart for Him.

My response to God's Holiness:  Honor Him with my physical body and exercise, with my finances and giving, with my time.  Set apart each morning to spend time with Him.


BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE,
He is unconditionally committed to my well-being.
Oh my, do I believe this?!  In Discover God, Bill Bright stated, "God's love is the only reason we exist.  It is the why of creation, whereas His power is the how."  That is very humbling to think about, especially when I stop and think about all the times and ways that I fail to believe in His love for me.  Yet even in the midst of my singleness or my struggles or my loneliness or my sin (etc.) - His love NEVER fails, NEVER gives up and ALWAYS endures!  Furthermore, how am I doing at loving others well?  Do I share His love with those around me, unconditionally committed to the well-being of others?

My response to God's Love:  Serve at church and be available as needs of others' arise.  Accept the challenge to journal in the coming week of all the ways God shows His love toward me, going into each day with an openness to see God's love around me.


BECAUSE GOD IS EVER-PRESENT,
He is always with me.
I truly believe that God's presence is the greatest gift/blessing we get to receive and experience as followers of Jesus.  I was challenged to think about the ways I have experienced God's constant presence in my life in tanglible ways.  Especially in times of loss and grief, I am so incredibly grateful for His presence through the pain.  Oh, that I would remember His constant presence in the midst of temptation - both His power to help me overcome but also His present holiness.  And that I would also remember His presence and care for me in the midst of singleness - fighting the feelings of loneliness or despair.

My response to God's Constant Presence:  REMEMBER His presence throughout my week, spend time with Him and in His Word each day, speak about Him with others.


BECAUSE GOD IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH,
I will believe what He says and live accordingly.
'Absolute Truth' is that which is solid, unchanging and constant.  Yet, sadly, this is a concept that is slipping away in our culture, giving way to relativism in which there is no solid, unchanging truth.  And while it might seem contradictory on the surface to many, His TRUTH is actually what sets us free!  "God's truth frees us to live as God has intended.  On the other hand, the Deceiver wants us to base our lives on false assumptions.  Jesus said to His followers, 'You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " (Bill Bright, Discover God).

My response to God's Absolute Truth:  Choose to believe His truth that He has my best and His good in mind, even in the midst of the challenging or lonely times.  Choose to celebrate and live freely and fully in this place.


BECAUSE GOD IS MERCIFUL,
He forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them.
The more I read or study about God's grace and mercy, the more I realize how vast it truly is beyond my comprehension, almost like wading out into a body of water that just keeps opening up wider and deeper.  I was challenged to consider where I need to experience more of God's mercy in my own life, and how that would bring me greater hope, as well as where I might need to grant more mercy and forgiveness to others.

My response to God's Mercy:  First, be quick to confess and repent and accept God's mercy in my life.  Secondly, stop/pause and seek to be merciful to others and not react out of my emotions or frustrations of the moment.


Thanks for joinging my journey through these first 6 attributes of God.  Look for Part 2 next month, covering my journey through the next 6 attributes.  To learn more about the Discover God book by Bill Bright, the Discover God Bible Study, or other related resources, go to DiscoverGod.com.  And please share your responses to a deeper understanding of God's attributes in your life too!