Dear Precious Friends,
As we welcome this new day and we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, you may be asked this question several times: "What are you grateful for?"
I love doing this because it is such a beautiful reminder of how great God has been to us, and His presence in our lives.
But this year, I'm going to do something a bit different. I love thanking God for all He has given us and done in our lives, this year I will also be meditating on, praying on, and thanking God for who He is.
We thank God for our homes, the food we eat, and we will also thank Him for being our great Provider.
Sure, we thank God for restoring our health and for his great ability to heal, so we thank Him for being the great Physician.
We thank God for lives that have been restored this year, and remember He is the great Redeemer.
And the list of His attributes goes on.
As the song "Way Maker" reminds us so beautifully...
Way maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, my God, that is who You are. Click here for this beautiful song:
The Scriptures declare that eternal life is knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). Scriptures declare great things about the character of God?
So, what are the attributes of God? Attributes are essentially characteristics that are inseparable of someone or something. Regarding God, His attributes are who He is. We know God, in large part, by knowing His attributes and His ways. However, knowing attributes on a list is not the same as knowing God. God always acts in accordance with His attributes.
Let’s look to the revelation of God in Scripture to know more about who God is. He is more amazing than we could ever imagine.
He is The One True God
- While many objects and ideas are worshipped as god, there is only one true and living God. Any other is described in Scripture as an idol. God tells His creation to turn away from idols and turn to Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
“I am the LORD your God, He who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. You must not have any other gods besides Me. You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.” (Deuteronomy 5:6–8)
The LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When He shows His anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to His fury. (Jeremiah 10:10)
GOD IS Eternal - God has no beginning or end in His own being. He sees all time equally vividly. Yet, God sees events in time and acts in time. God simply exists. He has always been and will always be.
Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like Me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, 'My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire.’ (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Even before the mountains came into existence, or You brought the world into being, You were the eternal God. (Psalm 90:2)
God is Unchangeable - God is unchanging in His being, perfection, purposes, and promises. Yet, God does act and feel emotions. He acts and feels differently in response to different situations.
God is Omnipresent - God is always present at every point of space with His whole being. Yet, God acts differently in different places, at different times, and according to His own purpose. This is not to be confused with thinking that God has material or physical spatial dimensions. God’s presence can be manifested in dramatic ways. It also may seem like God is nowhere to be found. Yet, God is fully aware and able to exercise His sovereign rule over all creation simultaneously, perfectly, and effortlessly.
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee to escape Your presence? If I were to ascend to heaven, You would be there. If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there You would be. If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn, and settle down on the other side of the sea, even there Your hand would guide me, Your right hand would grab hold of me. (Psalm 139:7-10)
God is Omniscient -
God fully knows Himself and all things. God knows the actual and possible in one simple and eternal act. God knows.
Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. (Psalm 139:6)
And by this we will know that we are of the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, that if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience and knows all things. (1 John 3:19-20)
For who among men knows the things of a man except the man's spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11)
God is Omnipotent
- God’s omnipotence means that God is able to do all His holy will. No one can thwart His plans.
"For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)
'Oh, Lord GOD, you did indeed make heaven and earth by Your mighty power and great strength. Nothing is too hard for You!’ (Jeremiah 32:17)
God is Creator -
God is the Creator of the heavens and earth. He is before all things and all things exist because of Him. He was neither caused nor made by something or someone greater than Himself. He is the Cause and Maker of all things, Nothing that does exist would exist apart from Him.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to His wisdom. (Isaiah 40:28)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. (Genesis 1:1-2)
For all things in heaven and on earth were created by Him– all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers– all things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)
All things were created by Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
He is Holy, Righteous, Good, Wise, Truthful, Patient, and so much more!
GOD IS LOVE
- God’s love means that God eternally gives of Himself to others. Not only is God loving but the Scriptures declare that God is love.
The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)
But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent His one and only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
I thank God for allowing me to be a part of your life. I don't take that blessing lightly. He has brought you into our community of faith and family, and I am truly grateful for how He has made that happen.
So this Thanksgiving, let us remember not just all that God has done and provided for us, but we also remember who He truly is.
I'll leave you with this song that brings me to tears no matter how many times I sing it.
"How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin
My favorite part is...
You're the name above all names
You are worthy of our praise
And my heart will sing
How great is our God
Blessings and love to you today,
AMEN!
