Do You Know What God is Like?
Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scripture is a poem that depicts the true prophetic spirit of a spoken word that can stir the hearts of people to new life and efforts. It is designed to help us to respond to the greatness of our God the Word made flesh. In reading this and other scripture, as a way of framing the experiences of life, we learn more about the character and attributes of God than we could by reading a list of God’s names or knowing the number of books in the Bible. Somehow it goes to the heart of our spirit and we discover the healing power of the art of scripture that speaks to our emotions. Knowing and experiencing God in this way through scripture is part of the journey for me. For it is difficult to please or even respond to God appropriately if we do not know God in our being as opposed to knowing about God. Do You Know What God is Like?
Scripture: Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop like the rain, my speech condense like the dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he;
Deuteronomy 32:1-4 (NRSV)
Message: I really do not know how it is that words framed as art move us but sometimes they do and not everyone is moved the same way. Not everyone experiences the Bible as Holy Scripture. However, it is the basis of our faith and the words of the Bible provide the rock foundation for a personal experience with God. But we are to hunger and thirst for the revelation of God beyond the words. Thankfully today’s scripture brings some satisfying refreshment to our dry and parched souls that hints at the reality that this experience is not only possible but part of the ways of God. For just as we need a constant supply of water to keep us healthy and growing, we also need a constant supply of God’s Word to keep us on a firm foundation. This is essential for revelation and it is the underpinning of an intimate walk with God. The goal here is to learn to personally relate to the who and what of God. Now, certainly, an infinite God is more than the sum total of the qualities we find assigned to Him in Scripture. And while our definitions and descriptions of God must always be limited, they are also absolutely necessary for faith and for our spiritual well-being and hope, limited as they are. So today I am not going to give you a list of God’s attributes but I will say that if the Spirit of God prompts you to explore them, you will be blessed. It is the perfections or qualities of God that we find in Scripture that reveal the essence and nature of God. These facts are the foundation, but do not stop short. The goal is fellowship with God as we learn about His person, plan, purposes, principles, and promises. It is this that builds faith, gives peace, comfort, courage, joy, and the energy to deal with life. Just as God’s creation is a perfect work of art so too our experience of God is to become perfect through the Trinity of relationships in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pray we are moved to read scripture with a desire to experience God. Pray
we realize that the journey of experiencing God is not one of the intellect alone. Pray we experience a mysterious but harmonious presentation of the characteristics of God in our very being. Pray we not be satisfied with a knowledge of an impersonal God. Pray we learn that God is love and grace and He longs for fellowship with us. Pray we realize that we cannot bypass or ignore God’s perfect holiness, righteousness, and justice. Pray we realize that God’s perfections condemn man in his sin unless we believe the solution of grace through the person and work of Christ. Pray we continue to read scripture for our spiritual well-being and hope in the transformational revelation of the totality of God’s perfections in us even though we cannot comprehend it.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 