Ten short devotions on the character and nature of God
God is Truth / 2God is Light / 3
God is Love / 4
God is Faithful / 5
God is Powerful / 6
God is Righteous / 7
God is Wise / 8
God is a Humble Servant / 9
God is Forgiving / 10
God is a Just Judge / 11
1. God is Truth
Luke 18:10-14
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers and adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said,”God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection
Which man was telling the truth?
The Pharisee was fooling himself into believing he was better than everyone else. The tax collector, who had probably taken money that didn’t belong to him, recognized his sin and poured out his heart honestly to God.
To live a life of truth we must be real. God doesn’t want us to wear a mask, trying to be someone we are not. To be humble is to see ourselves as God made us. Our goodness does not come from ourselves, but from Jesus who forgives all sin. God doesn’t want us to pretend to be better than we really are. Neither does want us to put ourselves down. If we have sinned, we should be honest and say we have sinned, and ask God to forgive us. By staying connected to Jesus He will help us overcome our shortcomings.God is truth, and wants us to always be truthful about ourselves.
Extended reading
Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith
2. God is Light
Genesis 1
In the beginning there was only God.
The earth was formless and empty.
Darkness was over the waters.
God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.
God separated the light from darkness.
There was evening and morning, the first day.
Reflection
God has always been there – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Together they created the world out of nothing.
God is good. His goodness is represented by light.
The Bible tells us to “walk in the light as He is in the light.” (1 John 1:7). To walk in the light means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. In every situation say, “What would Jesus do?”
Do you want to achieve great things for God? Ask God to shine His light on you. May your words, thoughts and actions be a reflection of God’s light.
Extended reading
Matt. 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
1 Peter 2:9
He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
1 Thess 5:5
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or darkness.
John 8:12
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.”
3. God is Love
Luke 10:25-37
A man asked Jesus, “What must I do to have eternal life?”
“What does the Scripture say?” asked Jesus.
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind,’ and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ said the man.
“Yes,” said Jesus. “You are right.”
“But who is my neighbour?” asked the man?
Jesus answered this question with the following story:
A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him and left him lying by the roadside. Two people passed by but chose to ignore him. A third person, a Samaritan,came by. The Samaritan took pity on the injured man, bandaged his wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn where he could be cared for. He paid the inn keeper for all expenses.
Jesus asked, “Which of the three men was a neighbour to the injured man?”
Reflection
Showing God’s love is to notice when people have needs, and to reach out to them. God showed the greatest love of all. He understood our need – that sin had separated us from Himself. God reached out His hand of love to us by sending Jesus His Son, so that whoever accepts Him can be a friend of God.
“For God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Further reading
1 John 3:1 – How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God.”
1 John 4:19 – We love God because He first loved us.
4. God is Faithful
Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life. What you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store food in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.”
Reflection
God is completely faithful. When we commit our lives to Him, He keeps us in His special care. When a couple commit themselves to each other in marriage, they promise to be faithful to each other, to look after each other through all of life’s difficulties. Humans may fail in commitment, but God never does. He is totally committed to us and will be there with us through every difficulty. Jesus showed faithfulness, even to death. He followed through with the task God had set before Him. God is faithful to all His promises. We can trust Him because He is faithful. Sometimes God’s answer to our problem is not the answer we expect, but trust Him, and at the right time He will answer in the best possible way.
Further reading
Joshua 1:9 – I will never leave you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generation of those who love Him and keep His commands.
5. God is Powerful
Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed Him. Without warning a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waved swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, saying, “Lord save us. We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Reflection:
God is stronger than anything. Nothing is too hard for him. He is almighty.
Some people ask, “If God can do anything, then why doesn’t He come and fix the world? Why does He allow suffering?”
The truth is that God can do anything except for one thing: He cannot make us love him. He gives us a free choice – to follow Him or not. Because many people choose to go their own way, the world is in a mess. But God is still in control. As followers, we can trust in God’s almighty power to keep us in his care. We can ask God for the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us from sin, and to do the works of Jesus while we are here on earth. One day there will be a new Heaven and new Earth, where there will be no sin, and no suffering.
Further reading
Matthew 28: 18-20
Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
6. God is righteous
Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus told this parable:
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet, to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent out some more servants…but they paid no attention. Some even mistreated and killed the servants.
The king said, “Go to the street corners and invite everyone you can find…both good and bad…and the wedding banquet was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to see the guests he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. “Friend,” he asked, “How did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The man was speechless.
Then the king told the attendants to tie him hand and foot and throw him outside into the darkness.
Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen.”
Reflection
Who is invited to the wedding banquet?...everyone who hears the Gospel. But not everyone accepts the invitation. Some think they don’t need to accept. They think they are good enough without Jesus. These people are ‘self-righteous’. They think they are righteous but they are not really righteous at all. The Bible tells us that no one is righteous on their own. We can only be made righteous by asking Jesus to be righteousness for us. When we do this we become his “chosen ones”.
Further reading:
Romans 3:20-24
1 Cor 1:30
7. God is Wise
Proverbs 16:16-17
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding than silver!
The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life
Reflection
Think of your life as a journey. You are on the road, like Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, heading for the city of the King. The road to the city is full of intersections. There are many opportunities to one way or the other. Which is right? When God is our Lord and King we can seek his wisdom every time we come to an intersection – that is every time we have to make an important decision. Although we have free will to choose our own path, God has the best plan for our life. He wants to use you to achieve great things for him. If you submit your life to him, and constantly seek his guidance, you will not miss the path. He will open the right doors for you, speak to you and keep you on the path.
King Solomon could have asked for anything he wanted, but he chose wisdom above riches. Because of this decision, God gave him wisdom. Solomon chose to have a relationship with God rather than silver or gold. He listened to God and God spoke to him. True wisdom is to know what God is saying, and to obey his instructions.
Further reading:
1 Kings 4: 29-34
2 Chronicles 1:1, 7-12
Proverbs 3: 5-8
Proverbs 4: 6-9
8. God is a humble servant
Matthew 20:20-23; 26
The mother of James and John,(two of Jesus disciples), came to Jesus with her sons, and kneeling down, asked a favour of him:
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” (She was talking about heaven).
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Jesus was referring to his suffering.)
Jesus said, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”
Reflection
What does it mean to be great in God’s kingdom?... a singer? a preacher?... a youth leader?...a helper of the poor? To God, all these jobs have equal importance. God regards us as great when we work for him without feeling that we are more important than someone else. A test of greatness is our willingness to do the unrecognized jobs.
Jesus, although a King, was a servant. He was born in a stable, lived without luxury and gave of himself without reward. He washed the disciples’ feet, served at the last supper and died without reputation. As a follower, Jesus wants us to put others first and self last. For those who do, he will reward with eternal riches.
Further reading
Luke 13:30
Luke 9:58
9. God is forgiving
John 8:4-11
Some Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger…he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first one to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Those who heard began to go away one at a time.
Jesus straightened up and asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Reflection
How dreadful this woman must have felt, being publicly shamed for her sin. But Jesus saw her heart. God is looking for a repentant heart. What ever our sin, God can forgive us and give us a fresh start. The key is in the last line of the story:
“Go now and leave your life of sin.”
God offers a new life to all who choose to turn from their sin, change direction and follow him.
Further Reading
Psalm 103:12
Isaiah 1:18
10. God is a just judge
Revelation 11:15-18
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
And he will reign forever and ever.”
And the twenty-four elders who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was,
Because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come, the time for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets, and your saint and those who reverence your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
Reflection
God’s justice system is completely fair, although quite different. God doesn’t make a list of the sins a person has committed, with a rating next to each sin. He doesn’t weigh up how good or bad each person has been. Instead he judges us according to our acceptance of his truth. The requirement for entering heaven is perfection - but Jesus is the only person who has never sinned! Does that mean that no one can enter heaven? No. God has made a way. He allows us to accept the righteousness of Jesus. For those who have heard the gospel but refused to accept the gift of eternal life, he judges. On the great day of judgment, there will not only be punishment for those who have rejected, but rewards for the followers.
Further reading
Psalm 67:4
Isaiah 2:4
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