Attributes of the Almighty: A Summer Series

Summer is the season to spend quality time outdoors. For those of you not familiar with Wisconsin weather, summer is the time for all that was dormant to come alive! Birds chirping in the background, kids laughter while playing outside and my favorite, the sun shining in on a summer morning.

It is during the summer that I am able to fully appreciate nature and look with awe upon all that God has created. Do we realize how BIG God truly is? Who our God is, is evident in the world around us. (Romans 1:19-20) This summer, I'd like to take some time to explore the different attributes of God. The attributes of God are the characteristics and qualities that reveal who God is.

Through these attributes we gain a deeper understanding of God's nature, character and relationship with humanity. So, if you've stumbled across this page, join us as we dive into summer learning about the attributes of God.

GOD IS HOLY

It was at the beginning of this year that I purchased a pair of white pants for my son. Now you may be thinking to yourself "what a waste of money" and to be fair, you're probably right. But before we get to far into judgement, hang tight. When I purchased these stylish, trending pants for my guy they came with a clear set of boundaries. These weren't the pants to play tackle football in, eat anything that was red in or better yet, leave the house. Ok, that's dramatic.

I wanted him to understand that these white pants should be set apart from his every day wear pants. As we look at the holiness of God, I want us to define it as.

God set apart from His creation, commands us to reflect His purity.

In Leviticus 19:2 The Lord commands "Be Holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy" It's a command given to the Israelites after they were taken out of Egypt. God sets them apart and commands that they look different from the world around them. Here's the thing, this command is not just for them, its also for us.

Let that thought humble you for just a moment. The fact that our Holy God commands us to reflect this? In Genesis 1:26-27 the Bible tells us that we were created in the image of God. Not because we can ever BE God, but that we are able to reflect the purity of God by living set apart from the world around us.

How Do We Do This?

We need the Holy Spirit in order to reflect the Holiness of God.

Holiness is impossible without the Holy Spirit. If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within you leading and guiding you in the way you should go. Have you listened? Have you surrendered whatever stronghold, attitude or action that has a hold over your life?

Remember those pants I talked about? Well those very set apart pants put themselves in some unfortunate circumstances. Anyone hear about a little activity called swamp diving??

Just as my son could never keep these pants perfectly white, our sinful messy lives get in the way of perfect purity. We need humility, we need forgiveness of sins, we need JESUS.

Just as my son could never get his pants purely white again, he needed his mom to step in and help. This is what Jesus does for us. He redeems us, cleanses us from our sin and gives us the Holy Spirit allowing us to reflect His very own holiness.

It's more than self improvement. It's more than finding the things that make us happy. It's full surrender to a Savior whose done all the work for you, now He's waiting to do the work in you.

My prayer is that you would know the one, whose image you bear and if you happen to slip on a pair of white pants, may you remember what you've been called to do..