In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3

Last Sunday's ABF Recap: God's Attributes
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God's attributes were the topic of discussion this past Sunday. "How many of us married our husbands or wives after one date?" we were asked. No way, we married our spouse after a period of dating where we got to know them very, very closely. The same can be said of our relationship with God. The more quality time we spend with God, the more these attributes will be sink in with us.

Ten characteristics/attributes/adjectives were covered:

• God is a person -- One must possess three "things" to qualify as a person: intellect, emotion and volition/will. God meets all of these criteria.
  • He has the ability to create, destroy, provide, care, hear, hate, grieve, love... the list can go on and on.
• God is a spirit -- He's invisible, without material substance, free from temporal limitaitons.
• God is one -- He is unified.

  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
  Deuteronomy 6:4

• God is a trinity -- Wait a second, he's one and a trinity? We didn't get into the dissertation-style discussion it would require to lay out all of the details. We simply examined the scriptures that we have before us.

  Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
  Genesis 1:26
  
  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
  Isaiah 6:8

• God is self-existent -- God said to Moses, "I am who I am." Exodus 3:14
• God is self-sufficient -- He doesn't need anything from outside of himself. Psalm 50.
• God is eternal -- He has no beginning and no end.

  Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
  "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen

  Following up on a joke from Sunday morning, Larry The Cable Guy joins us for this week's Update.

  Abraham!"
  "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
  John 8:56-58

• God is infinite -- He has no limitations.

  "Can anyone hide in secret places

  so that I cannot see him?"
  declares the LORD.
  "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
  declares the LORD.

  Jeremiah 23:24

• God is perfect -- There is not even a hint of a hint of a hint of a flaw.
  • Jesus says in Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
  • David says in Psalm 19:7, "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul."
  • Further, the Psalmists says in 138:7, "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands." (NKJV)
  In answer to Larry's question, there are no contradictions with God.
• God is
  • omnipresent - He's everywhere with his whole being (not to be confused with pantheism), and he's transcendent.
  • omnipotent - He's all-powerful over life, Satan, sin and death.

    Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
    Genesis 18:14

  • omniscient - He has perfect and complete knowledge.

    Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5

This week's Tony-ism: "There are two powers in this world that are stronger than we are, and one of them doesn't like us very much."

Print a copy and mark it up for our Observation Sunday, February 28.

Verse of the Month: Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

See you Sunday. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.

RG