Category Archives: Misc. Info about God

What determines your character and behavior?

We can be a certain way and do certain things for pragmatic reasons … to get what we want in life, to advance, or achieve. We can be a certain way and do certain things for people-pleasing reasons … to gain people’s approval and acceptance.

These reasons cause us to react and respond relative to our circumstances. We might find ourselves justifying the means to get to the end. Who we are in public may differ from who we are at home or in private.

Start with “Because God is …”

When, however, we start with “Because God is …. I will ….”, we maintain a consistency and integrity throughout the whole of our lives. We don’t do something just because it works but because it’s right. We’re more concerned about what God thinks than what people think.

When we use the character of God as our standard for who we are and what we do, we live in accordance with Romans 12:1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Examples of “Because God is …”

The commands of Scripture are rooted in the character of God. Hence,

• Because God is faithful, I will fulfill commitments.

• Because God is good, I will be kind and share with others.

• Because God is holy, I will do what is right even when it’s not convenient or comfortable.

You’ll find more examples of “Because God is … I will …” in the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download which lists attributes of God using the alphabet.

A prayer for all of us:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Eph. 1:17)

Whether it’s a new year or any other event in our lives, we would do well to learn from the Israelites who “did not wait for His plan to unfold” (Ps. 106:13). Though God extended His kindness toward the Israelites in Egypt, they still rebelled. “Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.” (Ps. 106:8) He rescued them from their adversary by parting the sea. “Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.” (Ps. 106:12)

You would think such a miraculous delivery would seal their trust in God’s intent to do good for them and His ability to bring it about. “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” (Ps. 106:13) They repeatedly put God to the test. Read the remainder of Psalm 106 to see how that led to much needless trouble.

Why We Don’t Wait for the Lord

Who likes the wilderness experience? Who doesn’t want the good without experiencing pain or hardship? Yet, like the Israelites of old, God sometimes takes us on an indirect route to get to His place of blessing. If, like the Israelites, we focus on our circumstances rather than on our God, we too will experience needless trouble along the way.

Psalm 106:13 cues us in on why they didn’t wait on the Lord — “they soon forgot what he had done …” As a result, their impatience with the process led them to take matters into their own hands and to turn to sources other than God for help and hope.

Why We Should Wait for the Lord

The Israelites had every reason to wait for the Lord. He had already proven Himself faithful. He had already demonstrated His power. God already had shown Himself greater than their circumstances.

For us today, let’s think about what God has already done for us in sending Jesus.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Rom. 5:8-10)

God has already demonstrated how much He loves us. God has already proven His desire and ability to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Certainly we should believe “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). The more we understand the character of our faithful, powerful, and loving God, the more we will realize that we have every reason to “wait for His plan to unfold” in our lives.