Unchanging

Hebrews 13:8 (ISV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today—and forever!

Good morning Zebras,

Today’s attribute is “Unchanging.”  Actually, that was yesterday’s attribute.  I struggled all day trying to write a z-mail about the unchanging nature of God but if never felt right.  This morning I think I know the reason why.  God’s Immutability, the big Biblical word for the unchanging nature of God is more head knowledge for me than an attribute I have pondered on and internalized.

As a woman I am anything but “unchanging.”  I change from day to day and sometimes from hour to hour.  I am influenced by other people and by what I eat.  I can be happy one minute and mad the next.  And I know I am not alone.

Things change too.  Take this z-mail for example.  When I wrote it this yesterday it said one thing, now it says another.  Or think about life in general.  Kids grow, people move, friends die, trees change.  Change is the natural order of our lives.  And because of that it is difficult for me to grasp the fact that God doesn’t.

God has always been and will always be exactly as He is right now.  He doesn’t have bad days and good days.  He doesn’t evolve.  He doesn’t get better because He started out perfect.  And He doesn’t get worse because then He wouldn’t be God.  And that sounds simple until you really start thinking about it, then it makes your head hurt. 

God does not change ever.  From the beginning of time, for all of eternity God has been and will always be the same.  He has always existed in the form He is right now.  He has always possessed the exact same qualities and attributes that He has right now.  They haven’t improved and they haven’t decreased, and they haven’t increased.

I have heard people refer to God as the “Old Testament God” and the “New Testament God,” as if God changed between books.  But He didn’t.  Who He was in the Old Testament is who He still is. He didn’t quit being holy and righteous when He revealed His mercy and grace through Christ.  He couldn’t and still be a God worth worshipping.

If God could change, we would never know what to expect.  We would not be able to approach the throne of grace with confidence because we wouldn’t be sure who was sitting there when we went.

And God’s immutability is why He can be our rock and our foundation.  It is why we can confidently build a life on the truth of Jesus Christ.  Because God’s immutability also means He won’t be changing His mind. 

Love,

Jill

Unity

Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Good morning Zebras,

Last night Nick drew “Unity” out of the ornament box.  My first reaction was “Unity?  How I’m I going to write an encouraging z-mail about that?” But this morning things looked a little different.

First, obviously, unity is an attribute of God.  The Father, Son and Spirit exist in perfect harmony.  They never argue they never disagree.  They are one united team that works together to accomplish what needs to be done.

Wouldn’t that be great if that could be said of God’s church as well? 

With the exception of what I call the big three, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, God’s attributes are imparted to us as well.  We are gracious because God is gracious; we love because He is love, etc.  And we are to have unity because He has unity.

Read Jesus’s prayer recorded in John 17:20-23 (NLT)

 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.  I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

If you look at it that way, unity becomes hugely important.  We are commanded to be unified so we can reach the world.  I don’t think God ever intended for there to be 38,000 different Christian denominations.

Nor do I think He intended for us to argue amongst ourselves about the best way to do ministry. Unity cannot exist unless everyone is focused on what honors God instead of what honors them.  In Matthew, Jesus warned that a house divided against itself would not stand and in Galatians Paul wrote them to warn them that if they kept arguing they were going to destroy themselves.

And it cannot exist if we continue to talk behind one another’s back.

So the next time you are tempted to complain about a fellow Christian worker stop, and pray for them instead. A spirit of unity has to start somewhere. Personally I think it would be great if it started with us.Love,



Jill

Creative

Colossians 1:16 (NLT)

for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

Good morning Zebras,

I hope yesterday’s z-mail on holiness was as encouraging to you as it was to me.  All day I was thanking God that my holiness does not depend upon my actions, but upon His. Focusing on God’s work instead of mine made for a very joy filled day.

Then, this morning as I was getting dressed, I noticed a list of “I am’s” that has been hanging in my closet for a long time.  It was given to me by someone who wanted to encourage me by letting me know who I am in Christ.  But I never really found the list that encouraging and today I realized why.  Knowing who you are in Christ doesn’t really mean a lot until you know who Christ is.

The ornament we drew out last night said “Creative.”  Not Creator, but Creative.  The difference sparked a lively discussion at my house.

Nick and I think creative is a different attribute than creator. One is the ability to imagine things; the other the ability to make things.   Creative people can explain their ideas to others who can do the work. Or, as in the case of Michelangelo, who imagined the modern tank, they can have an idea but not have the resources to bring it about.

Gary disagreed. He thinks that creative and creator is the same thing.  That to be a creator you must be creative because implicate in creator is the ability to make something from nothing. And if you are creative, you create. 

All of this caused me to do a little research which I must say was incredibly unhelpful.  I couldn’t find a single book that talked about the difference between creative and creator, not that it really matters because both are attributes of God.

God made everything we see, and everything we cannot see from nothing.  Nothing existed before God spoke it into being.  No earth, no angles, no heaven. Nothing.  And nothing was made that wasn’t made for Him. We only have to look to nature to see the creative ability of God. But that is not what I wanted to talk about.

What I wanted to talk about was the creative nature of God as it applies to problem solving.  When we have a problem we often try to find a “creative solution.”  We brainstorm ideas with others in an effort to think “outside the box.” 

But what I have seen recently in my life, and what has totally blown me away, is that if I take my concern to God in prayer and wait upon His answer He comes up with the most amazing solution, solving my problem in a way that I hadn’t even considered. 

For example, last May Gary and I were trying to decide whether or not I should return to work.   After two years off, Gary thought maybe it was time for me to go back. Since he wasn’t sure about God’s leading he took the stand that if God wanted me to quit work He would fire me. But I didn’t want God to fire me. I wanted to sacrifice my job up to God so I would get the blessings I knew would follow.  We both prayed and waited until God provided a solution that made both of us happy.

The school district fired me and then offered me a job which I politely declined.

Love,
Jill

Omniscient

Hebrews 4:13 (NLT)

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Good morning Zebras,

Today’s attribute is omniscient.

According to R.A. Torrey’s book What the Bible Teaches, God’s omniscience means God’s knowledge is infinite.  He sees all that occurs everywhere.  He sees all the good and all the bad.  He knows everything that happens in nature He knows what each of us are doing.  He knows all our deeds, experiences, thoughts, words, and sorrows.  He knows from eternity to eternity everything that has happened and everything that will happen.  And He knows not only what each one of us will do, He also knows our part in His plan of the ages.

It is an attribute that belongs uniquely to God and it is one of my favorites because knowing God knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen is incredibly comforting.

Last night Nick, my son, drew an ornament out of the box, looked at it and put it back.  Instead of giving me the one he had chosen at random he threw it back in and picked a different one.  When I asked him why he had done that he said he didn’t really like the one he had picked first. 

But the one he had picked first was one I wanted to write about today.  It was an attribute that went nicely with yesterday’s attribute of Just.  So I couldn’t  deciding which attribute to write about.

Nick’s input was I should write about omniscient since God, being omniscient, knew he was going to put the first ornament back and pick this one instead. This morning God confirmed that Nick was right.

God woke me up this morning at 5:00, with what I thought was my cell phone ringing downstairs.  But when I got up to check my phone was turned off.  I turned in on just to make sure that I hadn’t missed a call.  Since I was up I went to the bathroom taking my phone with me.  Sitting there half asleep I decided to check Facebook. (Let me say at this point I have NEVER checked Facebook at 5:00 in the morning on the toilet before and have NEVER had any desire to do so.)

This was what my friend Amy had just posted:  It was the Holy Spirit. A very clear indication to wait after the light turned green, just to make sure other drivers saw their red. I waited. The other driver didn't even slow down. Straight through. But not into me because God had me wait. Really.

And that’s one reason I love the omniscience of God.  He knows what is going to happen and sometimes, when we need to know, He tells us.

Love,
Jill

Just

Romans 3:25–26 (NLT)

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Good morning Zebras,

A few years ago my husband told me that I didn’t know how bad I was. At the time I was offended but eventually I had to acknowledge he was right.  So last night, when we chose our attribute ornament for the day and it said “Just” it was almost reassuring that my first reaction was fear.  To think about a Just God giving me what I deserve, apart from Christ, is a scary thing.

God is just and therefore He cannot say one thing and do another.  He cannot say the wages of sin is death and not follow through.  But He also can’t say all who believe in Jesus will be saved and then change His mind.  He is the one who established the rules and He will carry them out with impeccable justice.

Romans 5:1 states we have been justified by faith, and because of that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  And 1 John 1:9 promises that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  He doesn’t hold grudges.  He doesn’t stay angry.  We confess and He forgives, that’s God’s justice for us.

But it is not God’s justice for those who reject Christ.

Some people wonder “Would a good God really condemn a person to hell?’’ The answer is yes.  Not because God wants to send people to hell, in fact the Bible says that God wants everyone to be saved, but because God is just and people have free will.  They have the right to accept or reject God’s free gift of salvation. But they will suffer the consequences of saying no. That’s justice for them.

Tozer in his book The Attributes of God explains it this way:

When God looks at a sinner and sees him there unatoned for… justice says he must die.  And when God looks at the atoned-for sinner… justice says he must live.  The unjust sinner can no more go to heaven than the justified sinner can go to hell.

The fact that God is just should give us confidence that we are saved.

Love,

Jill

Faithful

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Good morning Zebras,

My favorite part of a herd meeting is the sharing. After a whole month of praying about and watching for an attribute of God in our lives we get together and share what we have learned.  It’s very encouraging hearing woman after woman testify to what God has done in her life that month.

Doing this for the last three years has exponentially increased my knowledge of God and consequently my faith, so when Anita gave me the attribute ornaments I shared about yesterday, she knew I would love them.

Originally I had planned to take the month of December off, but after I finished writing yesterday’s z-mail God gave me a different plan.  Each day I am going to write about the attribute ball that we put on our tree the night before.  Just like at a herd meeting I am going to share how I have seen God work in that area of my life and hopefully you will want to join in. But even if you can’t I’ll pray you will be encouraged as I spend this month focused on the attributes of our amazing God.

Last night I cheated.  I think I was supposed to pull an ornament at random from the box, but I’ve been so blown away by God’s faithfulness that I had to start there.

Three years ago I took a leave of absence from work to pursue ministry.  At the time I felt like I was a crazy person but I knew God was calling me to quit working for money and start working for Him.  In May I quit for good and over these last three years I have watched God faithfully provide everything my family has needed and more.

First and foremost, He has provided a job for Gary. There have been a few bumps in the road, but God was always faithful.  The bills got paid and we had plenty of food.  But He didn’t stop there. He has given us things that we just wanted as well

Gary, my husband, likes cars.  And we have always had “nice” cars, nothing flashy but good practical dependable cars.  But I know my husband, and I knew that there was a car longing inside of him that had not been satisfied. So when he let me quit work I knew he was also giving up his car. God knew that too and six months ago he gave Gary a job that came with a brand new Flex.  I am almost embarrassed to drive around in it because it is so nice, but I keep reminding myself it came from God for FREEEE.

I have wanted new windows in our house for a long time.  But without my income there was no way we were ever getting them, and to be honest even with my income it would have been a stretch.  But we have new windows now because God provided them through my mother-in-law who graciously offered to pay to have our windows replaced.

Then yesterday my sister called.  She was shopping and she wanted to know if I needed anything.  I can’t really go into details because I don’t want to ruin the surprise for my husband, but I started crying when I was talking to her because I knew although the present was coming from my sister, the idea had come from God.

Worrying used to be a full-time occupation.  I grew up with very little money and because of it I’ve always worried about it.  But God promises in Matthew 6 that if we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness He will provide everything we need. 

And I have found God is faithful to keep His promises.

Love,

Jill

Unto Us

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

For unto us a Child is born… 

Good morning Zebras,

I have a few friends who are very particular about words.  They think how you say something is almost as important as what you say.  Or maybe I should say they think how you say something reflects how you really think.

For example if you refer to the Holy Spirit as an “it” do you really believe he is an “it” or do you know He is a person with characteristics and attributes and have just gotten into the habit of referring to Him as an “it.”

Now for a lady whose favorite descriptive word is “thing,” that has been a challenge.  But I have found that becoming aware of the words I use has made me look more closely at what I believe to be true.

A few weeks ago at Awana one of the clubbers was sharing with me their excitement about Christmas. Joyfully they told me “It is almost Jesus’ birthday!”  And for the first time in my life I realized that it was not doctrinally accurate.

Jesus, like God is eternal.  He was here from the beginning.  John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Jesus does not have a birthday because He has always existed.  He just revealed Himself to us in human form at Christmas.

Now, you may ask “Why does that matter. Aren’t you just splitting hairs?”  Maybe, but to be honest, I don’t think so. I think my surprise at realizing it wasn’t really Jesus’ birthday may just be another indication that we’ve accidentally shrunk God.

Today starts the Advent season and Monday I got the best gift from a friend.  It is a box of Christmas ornaments each one inscribed with an attribute of God and a supporting scripture. The accompanying instructions say:  “Each night of the advent, choose one of the ornaments to add to your tree.  Before you hang it on a limb, talk about the ways God displays that quality. Look up Bible verses and talk about them.  Then pray together, praising God for that aspect of His character."

Personally, I can’t think of any better thing to do this Christmas than increase my knowledge of God. Because after this little revelation I know it is still needed.

I pray that you too have a wonderful Christmas season pondering on the mystery and majesty of God because it may not officially be Jesus’ birthday but “He is definitely the reason for the season!”

Love,
Jill

Attributes Ornaments

Faithful: 1 Corinthians 1:9
Righteous: 1 John 2:1
Holy: 1 Peter 1:15
Forgiving: Psalm 86:5
Loving: Romans 8:35-39
Merciful: Titus 3:5
All-Knowing (Omniscient) John 16:30
All-Present (Omnipresent) Psalm 139:7-12
All-Powerful (Omnipotent) Matthew 28:18
Eternal: Genesis 21:33
Full of Truth: John 14:6
Full of Wisdom: Isaiah 11:2
Compassionate: Mark 1:41
Just: Acts 17:31
Long-Suffering: 1 Timothy 1:16
Kind: Ephesians 2:7
Gentle: Matthew 21:5
Immutable (Unchanging): Hebrews 13:8
Creative: Genesis 1:26
Infinite: 1 Kings 8:27
Sovereign (Supreme Ruler): Jude 4
Unity: Deuteronomy 6:4
Full of Goodness: John 10:11
Trustworthy: Psalm 19:7
Generous: 2 Corinthians 8:7-9