Inscribe the Word . . . The Eternal God.
Happy 2020, Dear Friends!
Welcome to the first page of a brilliant novel!
Who is writing your story this year?
If I am being honest, looking back, there are too many years where I tried to write my own story. I tried to write great romance only, to have broken relationships. I tried to write great comedy, only to have my years filled with grief and loss. I tried to write great adventures, only to be stuck home in the throws of mental illness with sickness taking over my body.
This year, it has to be different.
This year, God is writing my story.
Will you join me in giving Him the pen and letting Him do the great work of making a Masterpiece . . . a Great Symphony . . . out of your life?
I hope you said yes because we are about to start living out HIS STORY for our lives through the pages of His Word. It’s time to Inscribe the Word and start a new study for a new year and a new story.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
This year, we are inscribing The Attributes of God. I encourage you to read our introductory post on why I chose this theme for 2020. You can find it HERE.
WHAT IS AN ATTRIBUTE?
An attribute is a quality or character trait. It is a characteristic; the nature of something. When we speak about God’s attributes, we are speaking of His character or His nature. These attributes are who He is. Before we were even a thought and before the world ever was . . . God was, He is, and He is to come.
WHY STUDY THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD?
I went into this in-depth in the introductory post to this study so be sure to check that out.
If we want to cultivate a deeper understanding of God, we need to learn about who He is. As with any relationship, we must come to a full understanding of who the person is in order to strengthen the relationship with them.
The same is true for the Lord. If you want a vibrant, living, active, marvelous relationship with Him, you must come to a knowledge and understanding of who He is.
If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time, the Character of God gets muddled. Sure, He is the God of Grace. But what does that really mean? God is love. We say it, quote it, tattoo it, Pinterest it, bumper-sticker it . . . but what does God is Love really mean? And how does He show Himself as those attributes in His Word? We are going to figure that out in this study.
WHICH ONES WILL WE STUDY?
We will be studying at least twelve of God’s attributes throughout the year of 2020! I am so excited!
If you are coming to this study after 2020, feel free to start at any time!
Some of God’s attributes He shares with us. His love, wisdom, peace, and mercy, for example, are all shared with His children. He is all of those things and invites us to join in with Him in showing love and mercy or obtaining His wisdom. He is love and so we can be love and show His love to others.
Some of God’s attributes are His alone. They are not shared with us. He is eternal. We are finite. He never changes. We change constantly. He is omnipresent (everywhere at once). We can only occupy a single space at a single time.
There are many more than just twelve Attributes of God. One could spend a lifetime studying who He is and probably never grasp everything. But through this study, we will build a great foundation into who God is by studying these twelve attributes.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE
In His book, Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer said,
“The decline of the knowledge of The Holy has brought on our own troubles. A rediscovery of the Majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them. It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power in our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.”
Tozer’s words speak what is in my heart and hope for this year long study on The Attributes of God. My prayer is that this knowledge of who god is doesn’t just stay in our heads. I pray it travels to our hearts, changing and transforming us as we yield ourselves to Him.
PART ONE: The Eternal God.
“God lives in an everlasting NOW. He has no past and no future.” - A.W. Tozer
ETERNAL: adj. lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning
Humans live in time and space, therefore, it is very hard for us to comprehend the eternality of God. The fact that He has lasted forever. The fact that He will last forever. The fact that He has no beginning and no end is unfathomable. As a matter of fact, you will find as you begin to study the Attributes of God, it is impossible to fully explore or understand Him.
My husband Steven is a “head-guy”. He loves his facts. He loves knowledge. Steven and I were friends long before we got married and when I met him he was unsaved but wanted to know more about the passion I had for Jesus and His Word.
He could not wrap his head around so many of God’s Attributes because they are really beyond understanding. I would say to him, “Steven, understanding God is not a head issue. It is a heart issue. Settle it that you will never have all the facts, you will never understand all the details, but you absolutely have the opportunity to know Him through faith and have Him move upon your heart.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Five years later, Steven is walking with the Lord and allowing his heart to process in the Word of God instead of his head! 🙌🏼
So does this mean we give up now?
After all, if we can’t fully understand Him, why bother?
Well, Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” Thomas Cartwright said, “He would not be God if His counsels and works did not transcend human intelligence.”
As kings and priests of the Most High God, we are called to be diligent in searching out the spiritual treasures and the knowledge of The Holy found in His Word.
He has made Himself known to us!
Even though our finite human minds cannot comprehend all that He is, He has CHOSEN to make Himself known to us!
“To them [the saints of God] God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27.
He chose to make Himself known through us the great mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory. Thank you, Lord!
El Olam: God Everlasting
As we move forward in Part One, I pray that you will allow your heart to comprehend the Eternal God. He is El Olam, the Everlasting God. He desires for us to know Him and to learn of His everlasting nature. I pray that through this first part in the Attributes of God series, you will embrace Him as El Olam . . . The Eternal God.
