God who?

Last weekend, my mom shared her sabfab time with me.  I enjoyed the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and suplication)  method of prayer with the movement of my body.

(Deuteronomy 6:5) "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

We were made to love and admire God with all our heart, mind, body, strength.  And yet, this is many times the most difficult thing to do.  Praise or worship or adoration means to get outside ourselves and take a look at who God IS and not what we think He is or should be.  How do we know who God is then?  We MUST look to Scripture to tell us, because otherwise we are just making our own assumptions based on our limited experiences and feelings. 

First and formost, God is Holy.  Ps. 99:9 "The Lord our God is holy." Whole hosts of angels were created to cry out (Isaiah 6:3) "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Emil Brunner expresses: "Holiness is the Nature of God, that which distinguishes Him from everything else...Holiness is not a quality which God possesses in common with other beings; on the contrary, it is that which distinguishes Him clearly and absolutely from everything else."

I was once asked about the fact that the word "fear" is used in the Bible to describe how we feel about God.  Well, I think that due to His complete holiness, to encounter the living God who is completely separated from sin and blameless in every way is a frightening experience.

It is frightening, because I know that I fall short.  I miss the mark of perfection.  Because I am sinful and prideful and want my way instead of God's way in my life I deserve death.  Does that sound too harsh? 
Paul reminds us, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)

Because God is all holy, he hates sin, he cannot have anything to do with it, because He is all goodness and Light and there is no room for darkness with God.  And He will exercise His wrath on sin. 

Isaiah 13:9 "See, the day of the Lord is coming- a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it."

I know that God is just. 

Isaiah 5:16 "But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness."

I have been thinking this week, about all the injustice in the world today.  Murder, rape, freedoms taken away, hatefullness.  Don't you want justice? I know I do.  It is good to know that God is good and God is just.  He will set all things right.  I like this until it comes down to me.  When I am the one who has done the wrong, that is when I really want the Holy God to show his mercy and love.  And he does!  As much as God hates sin, He loves His people, He wants us to CHOOSE to love Him and choose to turn away from whatever else drives us in life to be driven by love for Him! 

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." - look at this passage from Deu. "love the Lord your God" He is MY God, not only the God of nations, all powerful and knowing, but my personal helper and friend.  There is a Christian song I have been listening to, and one of the lyrics says, "Could the Maker of the stars, hear the sound of my breaking heart?"

God is so personal, we are made to be so personal with Him.  He wants in on all aspects of our life.  Last week, I was working, and I had been sick the day before.  I was exhausted, I felt almost numb.  Between patient visits, I was just in tears crying out loud to God because in my own strength, I felt helpless.  I could not go on.  I told Him that He was going to have to do this last visit, give me the energy and strength.  I was too weary, He needed to pick me up.  God is always faithful.  I felt a rush of joy come over me, and I made it for my last visit.  I realized this was another example of how Jesus comes to our rescue.  God wants us to call on Him, can I go to heaven? Yes, because you are covered by Jesus, he did it all for you if you just believe in Him. Can I get through this work day? Yes, because God is going to carry you through if you just believe in Him.
God is loving and merciful, he gave us Jesus.  I would not be alive if not for Him. 

John 5:26 "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself."